UK Conservatives defend picking former neo-Nazi as election candidate

What it is about

Who published it, and when

How it spread - 18 original reports, 1 reprint

1. Wed, 5 August 2026

   4 reports
   • South China Morning Post14:30
     UK Conservatives defend picking former neo-Nazi as election candidate

     The leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party defended the selection of a former neo-Nazi who had been jailed for hate crimes as a local election candidate, saying on Wednesday that he was rehabilitated and could help fight ‌antisemitism. Joshua Bonehill-Paine was convicted in 2015 of racially aggravated harassment of Luciana Berger, then a Labour member of parliament, and had also been imprisoned for stirring up hatred against a north London Jewish community. His selection as a...

   • stratford-herald.com14:54first to report
     Former antisemite Joshua Bonehill-Paine quits as Tory council candidate

     Party leader Kemi Badenoch said she was ‘sad’ about his decision.

   • The Guardian World16:06
     Badenoch gives former neo-Nazi advisory role after he withdraws as Tory candidate

     Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who was convicted of harassing Jewish MP, says Badenoch has asked him to work with party’s culture and integration commission • UK politics live – latest updates A former neo-Nazi activist who was convicted of harassing a Jewish MP has withdrawn as a Conservative election candidate after Kemi Badenoch offered him a role as an adviser to the party. Joshua Bonehill-Paine said on Wednesday that he had withdrawn from next year’s local elections, and that the Conservative...

   • channel4.com19:01
     Badenoch hands adviser role to former neo-Nazi who quit as Tory candidate

     Former neo-Nazi Joshua Bonehill-Paine has withdrawn as a Conservative council candidate in Somerset, amid a growing row over his past.

2. Thu, 6 August 2026

   1 report
   • The Guardian World15:56
     Why has Kemi Badenoch given a former neo-Nazi an advisory role?

     Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi activist, has been offered a role as an adviser to the Conservative party by Kemi Badenoch after he withdrew as a Tory candidate for next year’s local elections. The role will reportedly be focused on how young men become radicalised. Bonehill-Paine was convicted of harassing a Jewish MP and has previously described himself as a ‘nationalist, fascist, theorist and supporter of white rights’. He says he has carried out counter-extremism work since he was...

3. Fri, 7 August 2026

   1 report
   • The Guardian World15:36
     Kemi Badenoch’s weird week: defence of ex-neo-Nazi raises questions over Tory direction

     Some in party are delighted by leader’s tack rightwards but opponents have savoured latest Conservative controversy There was a moment in the middle of this week when a news alert raised eyebrows among the politically committed. It read: “Kemi Badenoch: Former neo-Nazi candidate would just be sorting out bins.” It was a collection of words that might prompt palpitations in the most sanguine of communications professionals, followed by panicked advice that retreat was necessary. But as a deeply...

     1 reprint

     • aol.co.uk7 Aug, 15:36their copy
4. Sat, 8 August 2026

   1 report
   • prospectmagazine.co.uk08:30
     Kemi Badenoch is creating a new—and very odd—type of Tory party

     In her upside-down leadership, former neo-Nazis can run as councillors, but anyone hoping to stop the world burn is banned

5. Mon, 10 August 2026

   2 reports
   • The Guardian World17:52
     Labour peer urges Tories to sack former neo-Nazi who abused her

     Badenoch adviser Joshua Bonehill-Paine was found guilty in 2016 of racially aggravated harassment of then MP Luciana Berger The Labour peer Luciana Berger has urged Kemi Badenoch to “listen to victims” and reverse her decision to give a national advisory role to a former neo-Nazi. Joshua Bonehill-Paine was jailed in 2015 for more than three years after posting antisemitic material online before a planned neo-Nazi rally. In 2016, he was found guilty of racially aggravated harassment for abuse...

   • newstatesman.com23:00
     The Kemi-naissance is bullshit

     Badenoch's poll ratings are -11 and her party keeps losing elections

6. Thu, 13 August 2026

   1 report
   • briefingwire.com09:00
     Time To Stop The 90 Year Old Right Wing News *Brainwashing* Campaign Before It Reaches 100 Years.

     British Media and the BBC are running scared from allowing the Public to read news that is simply *Too Hot for Them To Print?

7. Sat, 22 August 2026

   1 report
   • The Guardian World16:08
     Badenoch says Reform defectors ‘some of the most dishonest people I have met’

     Tory leader rules out coalition with Farage’s party and says ‘drama queens’ who left will not be welcomed back Kemi Badenoch has called defectors who left for Reform “some of the most dishonest people” she has ever met, as she ruled out allowing “drama queens” to return to the party. Speaking at the Edinburgh festival fringe, the Conservative party leader again ruled out any prospect of an election deal with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, insisting there would be no coalition between the parties....

8. Sun, 23 August 2026

   1 report
   • independent.co.uk13:54
     Kemi Badenoch rules out ‘monstrous’ pact with Reform UK: ‘They’re all over the place’

     The Conservative leader dismissed Reform UK as ‘people fighting all the time’ as she insisted voters would not back a ‘monstrous Reform-Conservative hybrid’

9. Wed, 26 August 2026

   2 reports
   • Politico Europe03:25
     Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives wish they could be as popular as she is

     Tory strategists will put leader Kemi Badenoch front and center this fall as her personal popularity outstrips her party’s standing.

   • The Guardian World15:00
     ‘Pack of lies’: Robert Jenrick launches personal attack on Kemi Badenoch

     Reform MP seeks to heap pressure on Tory leader amid confusion around details of meeting with Giorgia Meloni Robert Jenrick has accused Kemi Badenoch of telling “a pack of lies” about her meeting with the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, as he launched a deeply personal attack on his former boss. The Reform UK MP sought to heap pressure on the Conservative leader amid confusion about whether Meloni urged Badenoch at a meeting in Rome to “be her own woman” and resist doing a deal with his...

10. Sun, 30 August 2026

    1 report
    • The Guardian World04:00
      Giorgia on their minds: Farage and Badenoch scrap to be mates with Meloni

      Tories accuse Reform of ‘peddling conspiracy theories’ as row erupts in wake of Conservative leader’s trip to Rome Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have spent years trading barbs and fighting for the rightwing vote. But now the party leaders find themselves in a much more bizarre struggle – for the affections of the rightwing Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. The row began on Monday when the Times published an article claiming that during a meeting in Rome, Meloni had advised the...

11. Thu, 3 September 2026

    2 reports
    • dailymail.com11:00
      Badenoch vows to use benefit clampdown to get Britain ready for war

      The Conservative leader warned that 'conflict is coming, we must act now' as she outlined party plans to take billions from welfare and use it to rebuild the UK's ability to defend itself.

    • The Guardian World12:37edited after publishing ×2
      Labour condemns Reform’s plan for £100bn in cuts as ‘half-baked’ and ‘incredibly reckless’ – as it happened

      previouslyLabour condemns Reform’s plan for £100bn in cuts as ‘half-baked’ and ‘incredibly reckless’ – UK politics live

      This blog is now closed The Electoral Commission has released political donation figures for the second quarter of 2026. They show that Reform UK continues to rake in far more than other parties. Nigel Farage’’s party had declared donations worth £5.3m. Labour got £3.6m, and the Conservatives £2.8m. Most of Reform UK’s money came from Ben Delo, who gave £4m. As Rowena Mason reported earlier this year, Delo is a British billionaire convicted in the US for failing to implement adequate...

12. Fri, 4 September 2026

    1 report
    • thejc.com17:20
      Reform’s deputy leader: I can ‘smell the hatred and antisemitism’ from some Labour MPs in Parliament

      Richard Tice was speaking at an event organised by the Reform Jewish Alliance