UK Jewish groups reject offer to meet former neo-Nazi Conservative council candidate

Organizations say Joshua Bonehill-Paine’s crimes against Jewish former Labour MP Luciana Berger are too severe for political office, urge party to withdraw his candidacy

By ToI Staff 5 August 2026, 4:00 pm
Selfie taken by British anti-Semitic activist Joshua Bonehill-Paine, January 16, 2015. (Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

UK Jewish groups said Wednesday they had rejected an offer to meet with Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi activist who served a prison term for antisemitic offenses and who was selected to run in a local council election by the Conservative Party.

In a joint statement, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said they had ‘”declined the Conservative Party’s invitation to meet with a former neo-Nazi with criminal convictions for antisemitic hatred.”

The Jewish groups said that “the severity of Joshua Bonehill-Paine’s crimes targeting Luciana Berger and others mean that he still faces ongoing legal restrictions,” referring to the Jewish former Labour MP who was targeted by Bonehill-Paine.

“Whilst we do believe in the possibility of rehabilitation, this should not in this case entail selection as a candidate for a political party, and the impact of this decision on the victims ought to be a central consideration,” they added.

The organizations said they had agreed to meet Conservative Party officials to discuss the party’s decision-making process and urge it to rescind Bonehill-Paine’s selection.

The statement came after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch again defended the decision to allow Bonehill-Paine to stand in the local council of Somerset, arguing that he had demonstrated remorse and been rehabilitated.

“I’m someone who’s quite skeptical about rehabilitation and I see this man as somebody who has been rehabilitated,'” Badenoch told BBC’s Radio 4 Today program.

Bonehill-Paine, 33, had previously described himself as a fascist and supporter of “white rights,” and led a far-right group called the National British Resistance.

He was jailed for more than three years in 2015 after publishing antisemitic material ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally. In 2016, he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment over an online campaign against Berger, in which he called her a “rodent” and an “evil money-grabber.”

MP Luciana Berger speaks during a press conference in London on February 18, 2019, where she and colleagues announced their resignation from the Labour Party, and the formation of a new independent group of MPs. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP)

In the same radio program, Berger told the BBC that while returning to society and educating others about past wrongdoing was one thing, “there is a massive distinction” between that and seeking public office. She said she continued to live with the “profound and deep impacts” of Bonehill-Paine’s abuse.

Conservative leader Badenoch, who has been a staunch supporter of the Jewish community and Israel, defended the decision, saying that Bonehill-Paine was not being given a national platform and would be dealing with local issues such as parking and garbage collection.

She added that she would apply a “much higher” standard to candidates seeking to become Conservative members of Parliament.

Britain’s Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch speaks during a press conference in London, on April 17, 2026. (AP/Kin Cheung)

Bonehill-Paine has said he regrets his past and has worked with schools, universities, police and probation officials to prevent others from becoming involved in extremism.

read more: