Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who had been selected to stand as a Conservative councillor in Somerset next year, has withdrawn his candidacy. Mr Bonehill-Paine has convictions for racially aggravated harassment of a Jewish Labour MP and assaulting a police officer, among other offences.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch had defended Mr Bonehill-Paine, stating she believed in giving people a second chance and that he had renounced his former views. She noted he was involved in anti-extremism training, using his own experience as a cautionary tale.
Mrs Badenoch had previously stated that prospective Conservative MPs must be “serious people who understand common sense.” She differentiated the criteria for MPs and councillors, claiming a “higher threshold” applied for MPs due to their more consequential duties compared to councillors, whose duties she described as limited to “parking and bins.”