British Conservative Party defends inclusion of former neo-Nazi as local election candidate

The British Conservative Party is defending its selection of Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi convicted of hate crimes, as a local election candidate for Somerset council. Party leader Kemi Badenoch stated that Bonehill-Paine is rehabilitated and can help combat antisemitism, despite his past imprisonment for racially aggravated harassment against then-MP Luciana Berger and stirring up hatred against a Jewish community. Badenoch emphasized that this is not a national platform and that Bonehill-Paine is "more than contrite," citing his involvement with an anti-radicalization program. However, Jewish groups and other parties have condemned the selection, with Berger stating, "This is not just one-off 'hurty words.'" The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council have urged the Conservatives to withdraw his candidacy.