British Conservative Party defends inclusion of former neo-Nazi as local election candidate

Britain's Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has defended the decision to allow a former neo-Nazi, Joshua Bonehill-Paine, to stand as a candidate in local elections. Bonehill-Paine was previously jailed in 2015 for racially aggravated harassment of a Member of Parliament and for inciting hatred against a Jewish community in north London.

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appalling

Badenoch argued that Bonehill-Paine has since disavowed his past views and is rehabilitated, suggesting he could contribute to fighting antisemitism. She stated that his role would be focused on local issues like "parking, sorting out bins" and that he had participated in the anti-radicalization program Prevent. She also drew a parallel to the Labour Party's selection of a former Nazi sympathizer for a local election in 2012.

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looking at parking, sorting out bins

However, the selection has drawn strong condemnation from other political parties and Jewish advocacy groups. The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council declined an invitation to meet with Bonehill-Paine and called on the Conservatives to withdraw his candidacy. Luciana Berger, the former MP Bonehill-Paine targeted, emphasized the severity of his past actions, describing them as a "sustained campaign" rather than "one-off 'hurty words." She questioned the leap from educating others about past wrongs to seeking public office.

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It's not a national platform... This man is showing that he's more than contrite