When Kemi Badenoch unwisely backed former neo-Nazi activist Joshua Bonehill-Paine as a Tory candidate in next year’s Somerset Council elections, Reform quickly seized on the gaffe.
Badenoch defended Bonehill-Paine’s rehabilitation since being jailed for more than three years in 2015 after posting “vile” antisemitic material online and is also thought to be impressed with the social media views he generates as creator of the Crewkerne Gazette, a satirical right wing account known for its AI-generated videos which portray, for example, Angela Rayner as a chav.
Suggested Reading
Lee Anderson’s day trip to France
But Nigel Farage posted “is this part of the ‘new generation’ of Conservative candidates Kemi Badenoch is promising?” while a Reform spokesperson sniffed: “Kemi claims to support the fight against antisemitism yet selects a convicted antisemite Nazi as a candidate. The hypocrisy is breathtaking.”
Yet after withdrawing his candidacy, Bonehill-Paine revealed that not only had he passed vetting to become a Reform candidate late last year, but Farage’s party had even contacted him this June to ask if he would be interesting in standing for them in Somerset next year. One might say the hypocrisy is breathtaking!
Most popular
Farage won’t appear on The Rest Is Politics.. it’s one of many signs he's floundering
Are you over 45 and female? Sorry, you’re not getting a job
Has-bin: This could be the end of Nigel Farage
The return of the 1971 film that saw Trump coming
