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Politics14 outlets ran this4 min read

Conservatives select Joshua Bonehill-Paine as council candidate despite far-right convictions

Kemi Badenoch defends the choice of a man jailed for racially aggravated harassment of Jewish MP Luciana Berger

MediaBias Comparison Desk

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised

This article was written at the MediaBias News desk from the one-paragraph digests an aggregator publishes for each of the outlets listed below it, together with 2 of those outlets' own reports read in full. How we do it

Updated
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

What this story says

  • Joshua Bonehill-Paine, convicted of racially aggravated harassment of Jewish MP Luciana Berger and malicious communications, was selected as a Conservative candidate for Somerset Council.
  • Kemi Badenoch defended the selection, stating the party believes in second chances and that Bonehill-Paine is certified by the Home Office to train police on antisemitism.
  • Luciana Berger, now a Labour peer, criticised the decision, calling it a mistake and stating she remains haunted by his actions.
  • No centre-rated outlet reported on the story, leaving a gap in coverage between left and right-leaning publications.

Who covered it

Left 54%(7)Centre 31%(4)Right 15%(2)

Percentages are shares of the 13 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 14 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

62/100

Craft

95/100

Hype

30/100

14 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

Only 2 of the 13 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

The Conservative Party selected Joshua Bonehill-Paine as a candidate for Somerset Council in the upcoming local elections. Bonehill-Paine was convicted in 2014 of malicious communications over an anti-Islam hoax that led to death threats against pub owners in Leicester. In 2015, he was jailed for more than three years for posting antisemitic material online ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally. The following year, he was found guilty of racially aggravated harassment of Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger.

Bonehill-Paine founded and led the far-right group National British Resistance. Despite his convictions, the Conservatives chose him to stand in Crewkerne South. Party leader Kemi Badenoch defended the decision, stating that Bonehill-Paine has shown contrition, been rehabilitated, and is certified by the Home Office to train police officers on antisemitism and countering extremism.

Luciana Berger, now a Labour peer, criticised Badenoch’s decision. In a post on X, she wrote: "Kemi Badenoch, you’ve got this very, very wrong." Berger added that she remains haunted by Bonehill-Paine’s actions. The Labour Party called the selection a disgrace, stating it revealed the Conservative Party’s extremism and disconnect from the public.

What the coverage left out

No centre-rated outlet reported on the story. None of the digests from the left-rated outlets mentioned Bonehill-Paine’s Home Office certification to train police on antisemitism, a detail carried only in HuffPost UK’s full report. The right-rated digest from The Jewish Chronicle did not include Badenoch’s defence of the selection or Bonehill-Paine’s claims of rehabilitation.

Tags:#UKPolitics#Antisemitism#LocalElections#FarRight#ConservativeParty

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 5 Aug 2026, 09:15, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

7 rated outlets

  • The five left-rated reports led on Joshua Bonehill-Paine’s far-right convictions and the controversy over his selection as a Conservative candidate. HuffPost UK’s full report detailed his history of antisemitic harassment, including his imprisonment and his founding of the National British Resistance. It quoted Luciana Berger’s criticism of Badenoch and included reactions from the Labour Party and Jewish organisations, such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which called for his selection to be rescinded.
  • The digests from The National, Metro News, The London Economic, and The Independent all mentioned Bonehill-Paine’s convictions for racially aggravated harassment of Berger and his far-right activism. Metro News added that he currently produces AI-generated video content. The London Economic described him as a former far-right activist who had served prison time for antisemitic abuse. The Independent’s digest noted his conviction for harassing Berger.
  • HuffPost UK’s report included Badenoch’s defence of Bonehill-Paine, quoting her directly: "the Conservative Party believes in second chances" and noting his Home Office certification to train police on antisemitism. The report also carried reactions from Reform UK, which called the selection hypocritical, and from Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, who described Bonehill-Paine’s antisemitism as extreme.

Centre

4 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated reports agree that Joshua Bonehill-Paine, a former neo-Nazi with multiple convictions, has been selected as the Conservative candidate for Crewkerne South in the 2027 Somerset local elections. All four outlets note his 2015 imprisonment for antisemitic communications and his subsequent rehabilitation efforts, including Home Office certifications in counter-extremism.
  • The Bristol Post and Somerset Live led on Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s defence of the selection, quoting her statement that Bonehill-Paine had shown contrition and was actively working to address extremism. The BBC and Somerset County Gazette digests did not include Badenoch’s remarks. The Bristol Post’s report carried Bonehill-Paine’s campaign statement in full, framing his candidacy as a response to local grievances over housing, transport, and SEND provision.
  • None of the centre-rated digests mentioned Bonehill-Paine’s 2014 conviction for malicious communications or his 2016 racially aggravated harassment of Luciana Berger. The Bristol Post’s full report included these details, along with his role as creator of the Crewkerne Gazette, a Facebook page posting AI-generated political satire.

Right

2 rated outlets

  • The Jewish Chronicle’s digest led on Luciana Berger’s criticism of the Conservative Party’s decision. The digest reported that Berger posted on X: "Kemi Badenoch you’ve got this very, very wrong." The outlet did not include Badenoch’s defence of Bonehill-Paine or details of his rehabilitation and Home Office certification.

Read it at the source

14 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

7

Centre

4

Right

2

Not rated

1

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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Conservatives select Joshua Bonehill-Paine for Somerset Council | MediaBias News