Former neo-Nazi with convictions picked as Tory candidate for Somerset council

A former neo-Nazi activist who was jailed for posting antisemitic material and harassing a Jewish MP has been chosen as a Conservative candidate for a local election in Somerset. Joshua Bonehill-Paine, known in recent years as the creator of the satirical Crewkerne Gazette video series, will stand in the new Crewkerne South ward next year. He told The Guardian that he is an executive member of the Yeovil Conservative branch and works as an events organiser. He said party officials know about his history and have backed him.

Bonehill-Paine has previous convictions for assaulting a police officer, burgling a police station, and for malicious communications in 2014 over an anti-Islam hoax that led to death threats against the owners of a Leicester pub. In 2015 he received a prison sentence of more than three years for posting antisemitic material online before a planned neo-Nazi rally. A year later he was found guilty of racially aggravated harassment of Labour MP Luciana Berger, whom he had described on his blog as a 'rodent' and an 'evil money-grabber'. He also founded the far-right National British Resistance.

More recently, his online account has gained a cult following with AI-generated clips that praise Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and criticise Labour and Reform UK. Earlier this year, chief whip Rebecca Harris was criticised for reposting one of the videos that depicted Badenoch and Nick Timothy as characters from Scarface. Bonehill-Paine says his convictions are spent and that he holds counter-extremism certifications from the Home Office, adding that he has spoken alongside MPs about his past and antisemitism.

His selection has drawn accusations of hypocrisy from political rivals. A Reform UK spokesperson said Badenoch claims to oppose antisemitism yet has chosen a convicted antisemite. The news comes amid claims that moderate Tories are being pushed out. It has been reported that prospective Tory MPs must support Badenoch's pledge to scrap the 2050 net zero target and leave the European Convention on Human Rights. Over the weekend, activist Cody Butler resigned as chair of the One Nation Conservative Network, saying he no longer saw a place for that tradition in the party. Badenoch recently told the BBC that she leads 'a brand new party full of new people', after former cabinet minister Grant Shapps was reportedly rejected as a candidate. The Conservative Party was approached for comment.