The Conservative Party has selected Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi activist with multiple convictions, to stand as a candidate for the new Crewkerne South seat in the 2027 Somerset Council elections.
The decision to field Bonehill-Paine has sparked a confrontation between the Conservative leadership and major Jewish representative bodies. To mitigate the fallout, the party has offered meetings with the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, and the Jewish Leadership Council so they can discuss their concerns directly with the candidate.
Criminal Record and the Harassment of Luciana Berger
Bonehill-Paine’s history includes a string of convictions rooted in far-right extremism. He spent three years in prison after posting antisemitic material before a planned neo-Nazi rally. His legal record also includes convictions for the burglary of a police station, assaulting a police officer, and malicious communications related to an anti-Islam hoax in 2014 that triggered death threats against pub owners in Leicester.
Much of the current backlash centers on his 2016 conviction for racially aggravated harassment of Luciana Berger, then a Labour MP. According to reporting from the Independent, Bonehill-Paine used his blog to call Berger a dominatrix
and an evil money-grabber
. Other materials included offensive images, such as the anti-Jewish trope of a rat with Berger’s face superimposed on it.
“For the avoidance of doubt I don’t believe this man should have any role in public life, because of both his racism and his view of women.”
Luciana Berger
Kemi Badenoch and the Doctrine of Second Chances
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has remained firm in her support of the candidacy. She argues that Bonehill-Paine is not simply a convicted criminal, but someone actively working to solve the problems he once caused. Badenoch highlighted that he has been certified by the Home Office to train police officers on countering extremism and antisemitism.
“He’s going up and down the country training people and the Conservative Party believes in second chances.”
Kemi Badenoch, Conservative Party Leader
Bonehill-Paine himself claims to be a changed man, stating that his transformation began after learning of the murder of MP Jo Cox. He told the Independent that for the last eight years, he has delivered seminars to schools, universities, probation services, and the police. He described his past views as indefensible
and expressed pride in his rehabilitation.
This embrace of a reformed extremist comes as Badenoch takes a harder line elsewhere. While offering a second chance to Bonehill-Paine, she has reportedly blocked former co-chairman Sir Grant Shapps from standing as an MP, asserting that no former ministers receive special treatment and everyone must earn their place from scratch.
The Crewkerne Gazette and Political Satire
Beyond his counter-extremism work, Bonehill-Paine has gained a cult following as the creator of the Crewkerne Gazette, a satirical social media account that uses AI-generated videos. The account is notably critical of Reform UK and Labour, while often casting Kemi Badenoch in a favorable light.
The account’s influence reached the party’s upper echelons earlier this year when Conservative chief whip Rebecca Harris was criticized for reposting a video by the Gazette that depicted Badenoch and Nick Timothy as characters from the movie Scarface. Bonehill-Paine currently serves as an executive member of the Tories’ Yeovil branch, where he works as an events organizer.
His candidacy has drawn fire from across the political spectrum. A Reform UK spokesperson called the selection of a convicted antisemite Nazi
an example of breathtaking
hypocrisy from Badenoch. Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat MP Adam Dance questioned why the party believes the candidate is fit to serve.
Vetting and the Road to 2027
The Board of Deputies of British Jews has not been swayed by the party’s appeals for a meeting, instead calling on the Conservatives to rescind the selection and review their vetting processes, describing the decision as something that beggars belief
.
The Conservatives have countered that Bonehill-Paine was rightly punished
and served his sentence, maintaining that the ultimate decision on his suitability rests with the voters in the Crewkerne South district.
Whether this “second chance” strategy can survive the scrutiny of the Jewish community and the electorate remains the primary uncertainty as the party prepares for the 2027 local elections.
