Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi who was selected as a Conservative council candidate, has said he will no longer stand for election. He pulled out of the race after coming under pressure for his past actions, including distributing flyers for an 'anti-Jewification event' in Golders Green, home to one of London's largest Jewish communities.
Withdrawal and statement
Bonehill-Paine had been selected as Tory candidate for Crewkerne South ward on Somerset Council, despite several brushes with the law, including being jailed for inciting racial hatred in 2015. However, the satirist, who also goes by the pseudonym Crewkerne Man, said he had withdrawn from next year's local election and would instead support party leader Kemi Badenoch in tackling antisemitism.
In a post on X, he suggested that people didn't realise how 'terrible' he felt for his actions towards Jewish people. 'I also know that if I stand as a council candidate, other political parties will spend all their time focusing on my past rather than the work I'm doing today, or even fighting antisemitism in their own midst', he wrote.
Past actions and controversy
Bonehill-Paine had previously joined the Conservatives after leaving college, only to be expelled when he was found to have used his membership card to break into a police station and assault officers. His obsession with Jewish people was confirmed after he shared leaflets promoting a neo-Nazi event in north London, suggesting the rally would be 'an absolute gas'. In 2016, he was convicted for harassing Jewish MP Luciana Berger, who he branded a 'rodent' and an 'evil money-grabber'.
However, he more recently claimed to have had a change of heart, suggesting his views had softened in prison after reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – a tale set in the Auschwitz concentration camp. His selection as a candidate was defended by Mrs Badenoch, who insisted she believed in 'rehabilitation', adding that the satirist had shown contrition.
Reactions and criticism
The move was condemned by Jewish organisations, as well as Ms Berger, who said Mrs Badenoch had made a 'terrible error of judgement'. 'For the avoidance of doubt I don't believe this man should hold any position in public life – because of both his racism and his views of women', she wrote on her Substack blog. She added that Bonehill-Paine had shown no contrition for his actions towards her while on trial, during which he performed a Nazi salute to his supporters in the public gallery.
In his X post, Bonehill-Paine said Mrs Badenoch had suggested he become an adviser on the party's Culture and Integration Commission, but insisted that Jewish community groups had refused to meet him. He added: 'I love the Conservative Party. I believe in its values, and I believe that Kemi Badenoch is someone who believes in principles, believes in redemption and will stick her to do the right thing. I support the work the Party is doing to rebuild trust with the British people, and I intend on making a meaningful contribution to tackling extremism and promoting social cohesion.'
