Story perspectives

Badenoch Defends Neo-Nazi Candidate Amid Jewish Outcry

8/5/2026

Summary

Story summary

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch defended selecting former neo-Nazi Joshua Bonehill-Paine for Somerset council.
Bonehill-Paine was convicted in 2015 of racially aggravated harassment of Labour peer Luciana Berger and previously jailed for inciting racial hatred.
Board of Deputies of British Jews and Jewish Leadership Council refused to meet him, urged rescinding his candidacy, and were joined by Daisy Cooper, calling selection “absolutely outrageous,” and Zack Polanski, saying rehabilitation must include accountability.

History

Historical Context

On 4 May 2006 the Barking and Dagenham council election gave the British National Party 12 of 51 seats, 17 % of the vote, making it the official opposition while Labour held 38 seats. The win came after white-British residents fell from 82 % in 2001 to roughly 65-70 % by 2006 and the foreign-born population more than tripled, fueling immigration-focused backlash.

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Story summary

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch defended selecting former neo-Nazi Joshua Bonehill-Paine for Somerset council.
Bonehill-Paine was convicted in 2015 of racially aggravated harassment of Labour peer Luciana Berger and previously jailed for inciting racial hatred.
Board of Deputies of British Jews and Jewish Leadership Council refused to meet him, urged rescinding his candidacy, and were joined by Daisy Cooper, calling selection “absolutely outrageous,” and Zack Polanski, saying rehabilitation must include accountability.

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