The Conservative Party has extended an offer to prominent Jewish groups for a direct meeting with Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a council candidate whose selection has sparked significant backlash due to his history of neo-Nazi activism. The party confirmed the offer has been made to the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Jewish Leadership Council, and the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, providing them an opportunity to voice their concerns regarding his candidacy for the 2027 Somerset Council election.
Bonehill-Paine, who was selected on Tuesday to stand for the new Somerset Council seat of Crewkerne South, previously served a three-year prison sentence for posting antisemitic material ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally. His criminal record also includes a conviction for the racially aggravated harassment of then-Labour MP Luciana Berger, who is now a member of the House of Lords. His past convictions further include assaulting a police officer, burglary of a police station, and malicious communications.
Despite these criticisms, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has defended the decision to maintain Bonehill-Paine as a candidate. She stated that she is standing by him because she wants to give him a second chance. Badenoch noted that he is spending every day working to solve the very problem which he knew he had caused previously. She added: "He's going up and down the country training people and the Conservative Party believes in second chances. This is not just someone that we've picked up who is a convicted criminal – this is somebody who is actively working to help communities, especially Jewish communities."
Bonehill-Paine has described his former views as "indefensible" and claims he reformed his outlook after learning of the murder of MP Jo Cox, subsequently undertaking a de-radicalisation programme. He now delivers counter-extremism sessions around the UK. Regarding his candidacy, he stated he wanted to "give back" to a community which had supported him, noting: "When I was first released from prison in 2018, I was supported by many of the people in my local community who understood that I had made some awful mistakes but was wanting to change my life around."
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the UK's largest representative body for Jewish people, has formally requested that the Conservatives rescind his candidacy, with vice president Karen Newman stating the selection "beggars belief." Political opposition has also mounted, with Liberal Democrat MP Adam Dance, whose Yeovil constituency includes Crewkerne, stating the Conservative Party needed to explain "why it believes this candidate is fit to serve." A spokesperson for the Labour Party also labeled the selection a "total disgrace."
