UK Conservatives Face Backlash After Selecting Former Neo-Nazi as Local Candidate

The UK Conservative Party has sparked a political storm by selecting Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi activist with a criminal record for antisemitic offenses, as their candidate for the upcoming Somerset County Council elections. The revelation, first reported by The Guardian, has drawn sharp criticism from political rivals and public figures.

Bonehill-Paine, 33, was convicted in 2014 for assaulting a police officer and later sentenced to over three years in prison for distributing banned antisemitic content ahead of a far-right rally. He also led a harassment campaign against Luciana Berger, a Jewish Labour MP, using offensive antisemitic slurs. Previously, he headed the extremist group National British Resistance and openly identified as a nationalist, fascist, and white supremacist.

In recent years, Bonehill-Paine claims to have renounced his past and seeks to serve as an example to deter youth from extremism. He stated that local party leadership was fully aware of his history and supported his candidacy. "The branch, and indeed the whole party, are fully aware of my past," he told The Guardian, adding that the local chairman has been a vocal supporter since he joined the party.

The appointment provoked immediate outrage, particularly from Reform UK, a right-wing party, which condemned the Conservatives for hypocrisy and questioned their commitment to fighting antisemitism. Reform UK criticized the Conservative leadership for endorsing a candidate with a record of neo-Nazism and antisemitism. As of now, the national Conservative leadership has not issued an official response to the controversy.