A convicted former neo-Nazi has withdrawn from standing for office for the Conservative Party in Somerset.
Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who served jail time after being convicted of racially aggravated harassment against then-Labour MP Luciana Berger and also has convictions for assaulting a police officer and burglary, had been selected as the Conservative candidate for the Crewkerne South ward on Somerset Council in next May's local elections.
The Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council, Baroness Berger and several senior Tories had urged the party to drop Bonehill-Paine.
But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch initially defended his candidacy, saying he had redeemed himself, and drawing a distinction between allowing the convicted former antisemite to seek local office and giving him “a national platform” as a prospective MP.
However, following the backlash to his selection, including a critical op-ed by Baroness Berger, Bonehill-Paine has now withdrawn from the local candidacy.
And, after what senior Conservative figures described to the JC as “strong representations" to the party leader, Badenoch said: “While I am sad that Joshua feels he won't be given the space to explain his position and represent his community, I am glad he is going to work with the party and me on tackling radicalisation as part of our Culture and Integration commission.
“If we are going to stop extremism and antisemitism we are going to need help from those people who were part of the problem, but have now changed and are being part of the solution. Piling on them and trying to get them cancelled may be sport for other parties, but this is a different Conservative Party."
In a statement posted on X, Bonehill-Paine, who now creates viral AI-generated videos, said: “The last 24 hours have shown that a lot of people do not understand how terrible I feel about the things I did when I was much younger.
“I realise now that the fight against antisemitism is something that I actually need to do more of; I need to show the Jewish community how much I regret my previous actions and how hard I will work to fight to help destroy antisemitism and rebuild trust."
He said he will still work with the party on its Culture and Integration Commission, set up in March, and will specifically focus on “how young men become radicalised”.
“I was 21 when antisemitism became my whole way of seeing the world. Because of my abhorrent behaviour, I was convicted, imprisoned and deservedly punished. Since leaving prison, I have now spent years fighting antisemitism and extremism,” he went on.
“Rather than standing as a local council candidate, I believe that my experience is better used supporting Kemi Badenoch in her ongoing mission to combat the antisemitism and extremism that is dividing our nation.
“I have therefore informed the party of my decision to withdraw from next year’s council election and Kemi has instead offered that I become an adviser to the Conservative Party’s Culture and Integration Commission, specifically focusing on how young men become radicalised.”
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