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Politics

Does anyone understand Badenoch’s thinking about Joshua Bonehill-Paine…

98 replies

CurlewKate · 08/08/2026 11:26

…and if they do, can they explain it to me, please?

OP posts:
LuckyHazelFox · 09/08/2026 11:37

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 09/08/2026 11:24

Do you think the crime committed by Louise Haigh is comparable to the ones committed by Joshua Bonehill-Paine?

And would you support second chances for anyone, regardless of what they had done? Would it be acceptable for a convicted murderer or rapist to stand as a candidate for any party, for example? Or a convicted paedophile? Or are there some crimes that are simply so heinous that we might determine that the perpetrators are simply not fit for public office?

Wrong is wrong. There are of course degrees of crimes measured by their sentence. The appointment depends on the role allocated and no, I wouldn't support murderers, rapists or pedophiles holding positions but that isn't an option.

BIossomtoes · 09/08/2026 11:40

There are of course degrees of crimes measured by their sentence.

That’s a change of heart. Good, at least there’s now some recognition of the inconsistency of your former position.

TemperanceWest · 09/08/2026 11:41

LuckyHazelFox · 09/08/2026 11:06

I don't support him, I support second chances. What he did was vile and he's paid for it. Is your outrage at this particular appointment that you have always championed the fight against anti-semitism or are you just loving this opportunity to throw shit at the Tories. Did Louise Haigh deserve her second chance or are you going to produce that magic scale that's always whipped out when saying but, that's different?

Is your outrage at this particular appointment that you have always championed the fight against anti-semitism or are you just loving this opportunity to throw shit at the Tories

I have challenged anti-semitism on these boards many times. It is nothing to do with wanting to have a go at the Tories.

LuckyHazelFox · 09/08/2026 11:43

BIossomtoes · 09/08/2026 11:40

There are of course degrees of crimes measured by their sentence.

That’s a change of heart. Good, at least there’s now some recognition of the inconsistency of your former position.

Nope, no change at all. I'm not comparing the material facts of crimes. Deception is deception,Theft is theft, corruption is corruption and hate crimes are hate crimes. I apply the same principle to MPs taking bungs.

BIossomtoes · 09/08/2026 11:48

LuckyHazelFox · 09/08/2026 11:43

Nope, no change at all. I'm not comparing the material facts of crimes. Deception is deception,Theft is theft, corruption is corruption and hate crimes are hate crimes. I apply the same principle to MPs taking bungs.

You just did compare the material facts of crimes. I quoted you doing it. 🤯

LuckyHazelFox · 09/08/2026 11:52

BIossomtoes · 09/08/2026 11:48

You just did compare the material facts of crimes. I quoted you doing it. 🤯

No I didn't. If he turns out to be a massive risk and KB's made an error, I will come back here and say I was wrong.

hedgeknight · 09/08/2026 12:02

LuckyHazelFox · 09/08/2026 09:17

Defending a policy decision that puts her money where her mouth is. Yep, I will take that. Hope you're as passionate about combating antisemitism whenever Jewish posters come here for support. I know I am.

Hope you do the same for people of any religion, colour or orientation, not just Jewish posters.

hedgeknight · 09/08/2026 12:08

LuckyHazelFox · 09/08/2026 11:43

Nope, no change at all. I'm not comparing the material facts of crimes. Deception is deception,Theft is theft, corruption is corruption and hate crimes are hate crimes. I apply the same principle to MPs taking bungs.

I thought you are one of those Reform voters who Badenoch needs to win back?

Or is £5m not a bung?

SerendipityJane · 09/08/2026 12:15

LuckyHazelFox · 09/08/2026 11:52

No I didn't. If he turns out to be a massive risk and KB's made an error, I will come back here and say I was wrong.

I repeat: Kemi does not make mistakes

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/kemi-badenoch-claims-became-working-class-after-working-in-mcdonalds-5Hjcr5R_2/

As part of the interview, the MP continued: "I never have gaffes, or apologising for something... That's not what I meant... I never have to clarify, because I think very careful about what I say."

Kemi Badenoch claims she 'became working class' after working in McDonald’s | LBC

Kemi Badenoch has claimed she became "working class" after a stint working in McDonald’s.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/kemi-badenoch-claims-became-working-class-after-working-in-mcdonalds-5Hjcr5R_2/

CurlewKate · 09/08/2026 12:17

@LuckyHazelFoxDo you think Badenoch was right to challenge Louise Haigh on her spent conviction?

OP posts:
SerendipityJane · 09/08/2026 12:23

CurlewKate · 09/08/2026 12:17

@LuckyHazelFoxDo you think Badenoch was right to challenge Louise Haigh on her spent conviction?

Well we know it wasn't a gaffe.

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 09/08/2026 12:35

LuckyHazelFox · 09/08/2026 11:37

Wrong is wrong. There are of course degrees of crimes measured by their sentence. The appointment depends on the role allocated and no, I wouldn't support murderers, rapists or pedophiles holding positions but that isn't an option.

OK, so while you believe in second chances, there are some crimes which would, in your view, make someone unfit for public office. I agree with you.

Louise Haigh mistakenly reported her work phone as having been stolen when she was the victim of a mugging. She later realised that the phone had not actually been with her at the time of the mugging but she failed to correct the report of it having been stolen, either to her police or to her employer. This was wrong and she subsequently plead guilty to having made an incorrect report. There is no evidence that she benefited from the crime in any way, and she was given a conditional discharge, which reflects the fact that the courts regarded her offence as a minor one. Describing her as a "convicted fraudster" might be technically correct but her misdemeanour was hardly the type of crime that the term "convicted fraudster" might bring to mind. So if you genuinely believe in second chances and rehabilitation, she is a very obvious candidate and it seems surprising that you would keep bringing up her one relatively minor offence. Unless, of course, it suited your political agenda to do so.

The nature and scale of Joshua Bonehill Paine's crimes was very different indeed. He described himself as a neo-Nazi and a proud antisemite. He made sick jokes about the holocaust. He harassed individuals and made their lives hell. He was, quite rightly, sent to prison for inciting racial hatred and for racially aggravated harassment. It seems that he has now realised the error of his ways and he has participated in some counter-extremism programmes. That's good, and I'm glad that he has seen the error of his ways, though given his interest in the Reform party, I remain unconvinced that his rehabilitation is truly complete.

Would you agree that Bonehill Paine's crimes were far more serious and concerning than Louise Haigh's single minor offence? And given that Badenoch has criticised both Starmer and Burnham for having hired Haigh in spite of her very minor criminal conviction, does it not seem at least a littlestrange to you that she is seemingly unconcerned by the much more serious crimes committed by Bonehill-Paine?

MsFoxyBlue · 09/08/2026 15:32

CurlewKate · 08/08/2026 11:26

…and if they do, can they explain it to me, please?

Not even a little bit. I can only assume she has not had him properly vetted. She seems to think that his crimes begin and end with the antisemitic stuff; if only that were true.

The truth is, I am one of many dozens - perhaps hundreds - of victims of this man and his vile, hateful, demented cyberterrorism. And that’s what it was - he literally terrorised people. For years. Including underage kids.

long before he started on Luciana Berger, JBP was operating hundreds of fake profiles on Twitter, including cloning accounts of those he was harassing, and using them for just about every cyber crime you can think of. He stalked people, he harassed people, he doxxed people, he made repeated despicable false allegations of child abuse that got at least one person beaten up. He made posters accusing people of it and posted them in their home towns. He sent death threats, including ones of a cannibalistic nature. People think this was all about antisemitism because that’s all the press really reported from his trial, but make no mistake:

JBP was not ‘radicalised’; he is a stone cold sociopath. And he will do it again. Because sociopaths enjoy being sociopathic. That’s clear in his mealy mouthed apology, which doesn’t even mention Ms Berger by name, let alone any of the hundreds of others whose lives he made Hell for years on end. I still have emails from his local nick saying they were disgusted at the CPS not taking him off the street sooner.

If Badenoch doesn’t remove him quickly, she will absolutely come to regret it because he destroys everything he touches. I don’t believe in a concept of inherent evil, but if I did, it would look like JBP.

MsFoxyBlue · 09/08/2026 15:35

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 09/08/2026 12:35

OK, so while you believe in second chances, there are some crimes which would, in your view, make someone unfit for public office. I agree with you.

Louise Haigh mistakenly reported her work phone as having been stolen when she was the victim of a mugging. She later realised that the phone had not actually been with her at the time of the mugging but she failed to correct the report of it having been stolen, either to her police or to her employer. This was wrong and she subsequently plead guilty to having made an incorrect report. There is no evidence that she benefited from the crime in any way, and she was given a conditional discharge, which reflects the fact that the courts regarded her offence as a minor one. Describing her as a "convicted fraudster" might be technically correct but her misdemeanour was hardly the type of crime that the term "convicted fraudster" might bring to mind. So if you genuinely believe in second chances and rehabilitation, she is a very obvious candidate and it seems surprising that you would keep bringing up her one relatively minor offence. Unless, of course, it suited your political agenda to do so.

The nature and scale of Joshua Bonehill Paine's crimes was very different indeed. He described himself as a neo-Nazi and a proud antisemite. He made sick jokes about the holocaust. He harassed individuals and made their lives hell. He was, quite rightly, sent to prison for inciting racial hatred and for racially aggravated harassment. It seems that he has now realised the error of his ways and he has participated in some counter-extremism programmes. That's good, and I'm glad that he has seen the error of his ways, though given his interest in the Reform party, I remain unconvinced that his rehabilitation is truly complete.

Would you agree that Bonehill Paine's crimes were far more serious and concerning than Louise Haigh's single minor offence? And given that Badenoch has criticised both Starmer and Burnham for having hired Haigh in spite of her very minor criminal conviction, does it not seem at least a littlestrange to you that she is seemingly unconcerned by the much more serious crimes committed by Bonehill-Paine?

His crimes were far more serious than those he was actually put away for. FAR more serious. He made people’s lives a misery for years and the CPS just sat by twiddling their thumbs while people lost businesses and got beaten up.

dwordle · 09/08/2026 17:29

DoubleShotEspresso · 08/08/2026 11:32

Nope it screams if desperation to grab Reform voters she thinks this will wash with.
In doing so, I suspect she’ll lose the minimal support she may have already had.
Disappointing & utterly baffling from a woman born in the UK, but spent all of her childhood & early adulthood in Lagos & the U.S, only to return to the UK aged 17.
She has deluded herself for far too long & forgotten where she’s from. Epic fail.

While everyone has the capacity to change i do feel that someone like this falls short of the standards we expect from MPs.

nicepotoftea · 10/08/2026 15:09

I think she was so wrapped up in the politics that she failed to check what he actually did, and now refuses to 'lose' by acknowledging that.

This isn't just a nice guy who got in with the wrong crowd, and somebody who prioritises women should be aware of the link between misogyny and terrorism.

ETA: I don't agree with all her politics, but I do think are things to like about Kemi. However, she has let herself down here.

OrangeFlower14 · Yesterday 00:48

SerendipityJane · 08/08/2026 17:41

I have no idea what "they" say.

However I do know what Kemi says. And that is that she doesn't make mistakes.

@MsFoxyBlue that is what I heard from other places but nothing official so I didn't like to say

Is there a public record of all those crimes because she should know

TeaAndALittlePeace · Yesterday 00:59

RedTagAlan · 08/08/2026 11:47

As leftie who believes in reform (of character), I believe people can change and play a part too in helping others escape the world of hatred.

Of course, me being a leftie probably means someone standing as a Tory candidate maybe means they still have a steak of hatred in them... towards lefties. Hatred is too strong a word here maybe. Because their policy leans more to the opposite of my thoughts on reform (of character).

But it does depend if the guy was open about his past and ran on a part policy of helping others overcome hatred.

Reading about him, where the article says, "However he more recently claimed to have had a change of heart, suggesting his views had softened in prison after reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – a tale set in the Auschwitz concentration camp.", I can't help but think something is really messed up about education, or just general awareness of bloody recent history.

Source for quote.

Ex-Neo Nazi picked to run as Tory council candidate pulls out of race | News UK | Metro News

Plenty of hatred out there from ‘lefties’, towards anyone who doesn’t share the same political beliefs as them. I see it on here every day.

CurlewKate · Yesterday 06:09

TeaAndALittlePeace · Yesterday 00:59

Plenty of hatred out there from ‘lefties’, towards anyone who doesn’t share the same political beliefs as them. I see it on here every day.

I don’t have the slightest problem with having very strongly negative feelings (not happy with the word hate) towards a man who has behaved the way JBP has. Presumably you feel the same way?

OP posts:
RedTagAlan · Yesterday 06:31

TeaAndALittlePeace · Yesterday 00:59

Plenty of hatred out there from ‘lefties’, towards anyone who doesn’t share the same political beliefs as them. I see it on here every day.

Ah yes. Lets all hug a Nazi today and tell them we love them.

CurlewKate · Yesterday 06:45

It’s one of the best PR moves of the recent political right to frame any challenge as “hate”. I salute you.

OP posts:
RedTagAlan · Yesterday 07:21

CurlewKate · Yesterday 06:45

It’s one of the best PR moves of the recent political right to frame any challenge as “hate”. I salute you.

The same playbook as the Nazis used. You are with us, or you are an enemy of the state.

This Joshua Bonehill-Paine fella does not seem to be doing a good job so far on getting his message out there on how it works and how to counter it.

dwordle · Yesterday 08:46

TeaAndALittlePeace · Yesterday 00:59

Plenty of hatred out there from ‘lefties’, towards anyone who doesn’t share the same political beliefs as them. I see it on here every day.

You mean anyone who isn't a neo nazi, I'm sorry but neo nazi and racist beliefs are no longer acceptable. Unfortunately people like Farage and Trump have normalised the idea that it's ok to be a racist or a nazi and they do it by saying it's conservative. John Major and Michael Heseltine were conservatives very different from Farage

Farage should have been locked up years ago, he's a traitor.

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