Kemi Badenoch Approves Convicted Antisemite for Council Candidacy

Joshua Bonehill-Paine received a three-year jail sentence in 2015 for attempting to organize a rally against "the complete Jewification" of Golders Green; he also faced conviction for racially harassing former Labour MP Luciana Berger.

The harassment involved publishing five hate-filled blog posts about Baroness Berger, then the MP for Liverpool Wavertree.

Baroness Luciana Berger declared, "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." She added, "This case still haunts me."

Berger directly addressed Kemi Badenoch, stating, "Kemi Badenoch you've got this very, very wrong." She further elaborated on the distinction between rehabilitation and public office.

"There's a big difference between going back into society and teaching others possibly about what you did and why it was wrong, to making the leap to standing for public office," Baroness Berger said. She noted, "This is a man that engaged and indulged in a sustained campaign, not just against me, but many others."

The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council declined an invitation to meet Mr Bonehill-Paine. They stated, "The severity of Joshua Bonehill-Paine’s crimes targeting Luciana Berger and others mean that he still faces ongoing legal restrictions."

The joint statement continued, "Whilst we do believe in the possibility of rehabilitation, this should not, in this case, entail selection as a candidate for a major political party, and the impact of this decision on the victims ought to be a central consideration." The Board of Deputies of British Jews described the approval as something that "beggars belief."

Karen Newman echoed this sentiment, also stating, "It beggars belief."

Kemi Badenoch defended the decision, stating, "I’m not giving him a national platform, he is standing to be a councillor in Somerset … it is a local platform looking at parking, sorting out bins." Badenoch also remarked, "I have much higher thresholds for what it takes to be a Conservative MP."

She further explained, "I think what Luciana is talking about is not rehabilitation but forgiveness. I can understand that she does not want to forgive this man. I might not if I had been his victim."

Badenoch emphasized her concern about antisemitism, stating, "I am extremely worried about antisemitism and what I feel is that if we can’t have the people who have previously been radicalised, who understand what went wrong and are part of the fight against antisemitism now, if we’re saying: ‘No, no, no, you’re untouchable,’ then how can we pretend that we believe in rehabilitation?"

She also stated, "I’m someone who’s quite sceptical about rehabilitation and I see this man as somebody who has been rehabilitated."

Bonehill-Paine, who served three years in prison for his actions, now delivers counter-extremism sessions around the UK. He was previously jailed for producing an advert for a neo-Nazi rally.

He claims to have since dedicated himself to challenging hatred faced by British Jews and states his convictions are spent, holding Home Office certification for counter-extremism work. Bonehill-Paine also runs a satirical website featuring AI-generated videos of politicians.

Bonehill-Paine stated, "I have no excuses for my past offending." He had put his name forward to contest the Crewkerne South division, with the selection being for the Crewkerne South seat on Somerset Council in 2027.