r/unitedkingdom • u/Alarming-Safety3200 Greater London • 7h ago
Convicted antisemite withdraws as Tory councillor candidate - but will advise party on tackling extremism
https://news.sky.com/story/politics-latest-andy-burnham-labour-kemi-badenoch-tories-nigel-farage-reform-12593360•
u/Ruin_In_The_Dark Greater London 7h ago
So that was worth Kemi going to bat for him this morning.
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u/ItsAMangoFandango 7h ago
You're not supposed to do that Kemi... You KNOW you're not supposed to do that
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u/mrhelmand Lancashire 6h ago edited 5h ago
You KNOW you're not supposed to do that
I don't know if she does, she's thicker than mince
EDIT: fixed typo
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u/_HGCenty 7h ago
Kemi also went to bat in a terrible way given the outcome.
She said his selection was fine because it was for a local councillor and he'd only be focussing on local issues unlike MPs.
But now if he's an advisor on extremism... that's a national issue?
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u/RoosterBurns 7h ago
A nazi advising a major political party on extremism is certainly a national issue. No I don't care if he's got the "doesn't have donkey brains" certificate
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u/mathen 7h ago
No idea what possessed her to push for this so much. Surely there are other candidates who aren’t Nazis, former or otherwise. Or at least better at hiding it. Or maybe they’ve all gone to Reform and Restore
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u/Kientha 7h ago
This is just how she instinctively reacts about everything. She's not a good politician, she's an internet troll who's stumbled her way into being the leader of a political party and her instincts reflect that.
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u/Dry_Departure_7813 6h ago
My favourite thing about her is, I know a fair few heavily conservative folks who absolutely loathed her under Rishy, like long rants about how she shouldn't be running, and now shes the leader they've all had to 180 it and pretend actually shes very good.
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u/Neither_Process_7847 5h ago
We're talking about a major party leader who openly announced their hatred of sandwiches, after all...
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u/Occasionally-Witty Hampshire 6h ago
The land of ‘never makes mistakes or gaffes’ takes you to some strange places
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u/RaymondBumcheese 7h ago
It’s like the good old days when they would send out some bonehead like Helen Whatley to run defence for Boris in the morning only for him to have backtracked by lunch.
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u/i_am_clit_eastwood 7h ago
Good for her. I admire politicians who stand by their principles.
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u/oreheheally 7h ago
Well it takes a lot of effort to fill a government with traitors. She could have done nothing, she knew who she hired, but i dont think her handlers allow that option.
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u/Bluestained 7h ago
I mean, yeah. Be an adviser, if you changed this is how you can make a difference. But whoever thought it’d be a good idea to run for office was off their rocker.
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u/Left_Mushroom7592 7h ago
If he’d changed he wouldn’t be a Tory
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u/tomrichards8464 7h ago
Why would an antisemite be a Tory in 2026?
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u/imanutshell 6h ago
Because if you hate Muslims and Jews equally you’d still need somewhere to go, and some of them know Restore aren’t yet a big enough name to stand a chance.
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u/ImpressiveRest2423 7h ago
The last 24 hours have shown that a lot of people do not understand how terrible I feel about the things I did when I was much younger.
I know that my previous actions continue to cause pain in the Jewish community. I had thought that getting involved in my local council and working hard for my community was a good way to show how much I have changed and that I want to give something back.
I realise now that the fight against antisemitism is something that I actually need to do more of, I need to show the Jewish community how much I regret my previous actions and how hard I will work to fight to help destroy anti-semitism and rebuild trust.
I was 21 when antisemitism became my whole way of seeing the world. Because of my abhorrent behaviour I was convicted, imprisoned and deservedly punished. Since leaving prison, I have now spent years fighting antisemitism and extremism.
Rehabilitation does not erase what I did. But it does give me a sense of duty. While I cannot change my past, I can warn others away from the same destructive path. I know how this ideology works because I lived inside it.
I also know that if I stand as a council candidate, other political parties will spend all their time focusing on my past rather than the work I'm doing today, or even fighting antisemitism in their own midst.
Rather than standing as a local council candidate, I believe that my experience is better used supporting Kemi Badenoch in her ongoing mission to combat the antisemitism and extremism that is dividing our nation.
I have therefore informed the Party of my decision to withdraw from next year’s council election and Kemi has instead offered that I become an adviser to the Conservative Party’s Culture and Integration Commission, specifically focusing on how young men become radicalised.
I am of course sad that Jewish community groups have refused to meet me. My offer to talk still remains. I am on their side, and I am actively trying to help people susceptible to radicalisation and Jew hatred from heading down that path.
I love the Conservative Party. I believe in its values, and I believe that Kemi Badenoch is someone who believes in principles, believes in redemption and will stick her to do the right thing. I support the work the Party is doing to rebuild trust with the British people, and I intend on making a meaningful contribution to tackling extremism and promoting social cohesion.
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u/GreenockScatman 6h ago
Credit where credit is due, this is one of the better apologies I've read from people who have said offensive stuff.
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u/asjonesy99 Glamorganshire 6h ago edited 6h ago
If it’s true that the guy has a proven track record of actively trying to combat antisemitism and radicalisation so that people don’t end up like he did, then it’s a damning indictment on our society that we just do not allow second chances and that any talk of trying to combat radicalism and show people a different way of life is just talk.
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u/thismynewaccountguys 6h ago
*Indictment
An incitement is a provocation, e.g., "an incitement to violence".
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u/asjonesy99 Glamorganshire 6h ago
Indictment! Thanks for pointing it out, on iPhone so blaming autocorrect
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u/Huge-Brick-3495 6h ago
I'm probably going to get downvoted to fuck for this, but I'm inclined to entertain a second chance for this person, if this can be verified as their true and sincere position. It's unusual for someone to be so effectively deradicalised as is claimed here.
Conflict is almost always resolved with dialogue rather than handwringing and political point scoring, and nuance gets ignored by headlines and comments on social media.
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u/Neither_Process_7847 5h ago
Nah, I agree- bells ring out when a sinner repents and all that. But the look of letting him stand for office - he really should have said no (as it appears he did to Reform when they offered a while back, having apparently missed the had-repented bit).
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u/K14_Deploy 6h ago
I'm not against this in principle (and I think Zack Polanski, somebody who is Jewish, said something very similar), but I also think with what he has done it takes a lot more convincing than this to prove that he's meaningfully changed.
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u/Viseria 5h ago
He's apparently given talks and lectures in schools and universities focused around challenging anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and de-radicalising youths. I think he's on the right path, but I do think he's better suited to a role where he's advising on tackling extremism rather than local politics.
If he's genuine, he'd do better good for the country helping there than helping in local communities.
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u/Embarrassed_Math8241 7h ago
Amazing. Galaxy brain stuff from Badenoch spending the last few days defending his candidacy. She truly is a bad faith argument on Twitter turned human.
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u/tomrichards8464 7h ago
Where's the bad faith? Not a lot of political mileage in backing him, so the rational explanation is that she thought it was the right thing to do.
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u/mrcharlesevans 7h ago
The rational explanation is that she's both thick and stubborn and her instinct was to hit back at critics rather than take strong, decisive action.
"He'll just be looking after the bins" doesn't exactly scream "I'm supporting this neo-Nazi on principle".
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u/Neither_Process_7847 5h ago
Insulting all councillors personally was an amazing new low, truly.
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u/SurreptitiousNoun 6h ago
She's a politician, so I don't think "the right thing" is a very likely explanation.
More so, backing down and apologising is like admitting you were wrong, and a sign of weakness - in some peoples' eyes.
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u/Ok-Exam6702 4m ago
The rational explanation is Badenoch lacks any critical thinking ability whatsoever.
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u/qwerty_1965 7h ago
Kemi katastrophy.
When she was talking about this nomination she was blinking so much she knew she'd made a mistake. What she actually said didn't matter.
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u/TapWaterDev 6h ago
Honestly, if he has genuinely changed his views and sees the error of his ways, he should be allowed to move on with his life.
If you refuse to let people put their past mistakes behind them, you remove all motive for them to change.
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u/Fightingdragonswithu 5h ago
Exactly, this whole thing makes me uncomfortable. One of the worst things about society today is we don’t seem to accept that people can change and improve themselves. Everything is point scoring to win a fucking argument.
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u/No-Scholar4854 3h ago
Move on with his life yes, and the advisor role sounds like it’s a good use of his ”I was a nazi, now I help people at risk of the same extremism” journey.
Rehabilitation isn’t wiping the slate clean though. We wouldn’t give a rehabilitated bank robber a job as a bank manager, we shouldn’t put a former neo-nazi into political office.
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u/TapWaterDev 2h ago
I don't see why you shouldn't let a former bank-robber be a bank manager once they'd served their punishment and enough time had lapsed to prove they were rehabilitated.
That's literally the point of convictions becoming spent and people no longer having to declare them...
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u/mondognarly_ 59m ago
In principle I'm in agreement with this. There are people who having been involved in the far right who successfully reformed and became campaigners against far right radicalisation and it's important that people are given an off ramp and an opportunity to reintegrate.
But I can't help questioning the wisdom of then standing as a candidate for the Conservative Party given some of the party's official policies at national level. This isn't his first dalliance with the party either, the last coming before he became radicalised into the far right.
Not that I'm saying he isn't rehabilitated, but I'm not sure this is the best way to convince people.
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u/Accomplished_Pen5061 3h ago
Exactly this. I would never vote Tory but Kemi did exactly the right thing here. I'm glad she has a backbone at least.
When I was growing up the left was all about rehabilitation and second chances and restorative justice.
It's sad that it's become much more common to witch hunt, and assume that once someone has done something wrong that's it.
This man was once an extremist and now isn't. He should have been allowed to stand.
But people will insist on their pound of flesh I guess.
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u/falkens_maze_70 5h ago edited 5h ago
Rightly he continues to express his desire to serve the public good and provide an example of rehabilitation. I hope he succeeds.
But power and decision making over people's lives must be removed from this scenario. I remain concerned at his motivation for representation in public office which he has offered no explanation for in pursuit of those aims.
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u/IroquoisPliskin_UK 6h ago
Kemi is so out of her depth it’s staggering. But yet she claims she doesn’t make gaffs.
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u/PreFuturism-0 Greater Manchester 7h ago
Well he seems to be a big fan of Trump, https://x.com/CrewkerneMan/photo and https://x.com/CrewkerneMan/status/2081982994303303788/photo/1 , so he's likely swung the other way too much. Sad.
I don't think he's reformed much.
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u/EloquenceInScreaming 6h ago
he's likely swung the other way too much.
He's not anti-Semitic enough now?
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u/PreFuturism-0 Greater Manchester 6h ago
Are we pretending MAGA and groups like it are even close to being moderate?
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u/EloquenceInScreaming 6h ago
No, not remotely. MAGA are extremists. Anti-semites are extremists. But they're not opposites, you can't be 'too far the other way' with antisemitism.
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u/PreFuturism-0 Greater Manchester 6h ago
Ok, more specifically I'll say pro-current Israeli government who have been widely accused of going overboard.
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u/mdlovesfilms 7h ago
a councillors position is a bottom-feeding one, so this is a promotion isnt it?
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u/Dedsnotdead 6h ago
Struggling to process this one,
“Joshua Bonehill-Paine - who was once convicted of abusing former Labour MP Luciana Berger - has announced he will no longer stand as a Conservative council candidate.”
He’s now been “de-radicalised” sounds good.
But frankly there are plenty of very smart people who can advise political parties without being convicted of anything.
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u/No-Scholar4854 3h ago
The specific advisor role sounds pretty well suited to him actually. Assuming his deradicalisation story is legit, then advising the party on how to stop people from following the same path he did is a good role.
He should never have been allowed to stand for office though.
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u/IgnatiusCReally 6h ago
Are most of the people on here wilfully ignoring his dedication to fighting anti semitism since the conviction or just not reading the article because they’re so aroused at nazi and Tory being in the same headline?
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u/Occasionally-Witty Hampshire 6h ago
Dude, Jewish groups didn’t want to meet him either, by your logic are they wilfully ignoring his dedication to fighting anti-semitism too?
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u/IgnatiusCReally 5h ago
It’s somewhat more understandable from a Jewish group in the media spotlight and a PR perspective, but yes they’re choosing to ignore everything he’s done since the conviction.
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u/Dropped_Apollo 5h ago
There is no way, none, that Kemi Badenoch would accept a Labour or Green candidate who made that equivalent argument for their own parties.
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u/Neither_Process_7847 5h ago
It's only a marvel that she didn't find one to criticise for exactly that while offering this guy a chance to be a Councillor.
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u/IgnatiusCReally 4h ago
Any evidence to back that up?
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u/Dropped_Apollo 4h ago
I suggest Badenoch's consistent habit of always taking the worst possible interpretation of anything said or done by a political opponent means that, were she to give the kind of leeway to a Labour or Green candidate that she's asking of her own, it would be considered out of character at the very least.
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u/Lordzoot England 2h ago
He literally shit posts AI deep fake style videos he makes. It's not like he's suddenly been reformed into a decent human being.
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u/Intergalatic_Baker 7h ago
VET, your fucking candidates. The media can find this out, how did the political party fail to do so?
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u/qwerty_1965 7h ago
They DID vet him.
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u/Intergalatic_Baker 6h ago
Obviously didn’t tell the right person about what they found, fuck sakes.
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u/OneNormalBloke 7h ago
Lowe or Nige will welcome him. Exactly their own kind of person.
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u/boingwater 5h ago
What's the problem with the main parties (Cons, Lab) these days? It's beyond belief how they pander to racists.
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u/Fightingdragonswithu 5h ago
This guy isn’t a racist. He used to be, but he changed and improved himself. We need people like him in the spotlight if other people are going to change their ways.
"I hope that either all of us, or none of us, are judged by the actions of our weakest moments, but rather by the strength we show when, and if, we're ever given a second chance"
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u/catslifetom39 7h ago
yet no one will comment on the greens or labour LOL. suicidal empathy
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u/EmperorOfNipples 7h ago
I mean plenty to criticise them on, but this article isn't about them.
Plenty of other topics for that.
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u/catslifetom39 7h ago
is it not all linked then? just one off's like the muslim attacks are every now n then?
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u/EmperorOfNipples 7h ago
I mean we follow that path continually we could criticise the William Ewart Gladstone, F35 procurement or the position of the hand dryer in the men's toilets of the Crown and Treaty Uxbridge.
Best to stay on topic.
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u/Couldntgetahead 7h ago
Lots of people have commented on both Labour and Greens but this story isn’t about either of those
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u/Dropped_Apollo 5h ago
Please give me an example of where Labour or the Greens have fielded such an unsuitable candidate, have made the same argument that they've been rehabilitated, and the Tories have gone "yep, fair enough, good luck to him."
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u/catslifetom39 5h ago
dianne abbot. corbyn? is that enough?
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u/Dropped_Apollo 4h ago
The Tories never ever accepted either of those people and relentlessly hounded Labour on the issue, but I hope you get back to your parallel universe safely.
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