Former neo-Nazi withdraws as Tory candidate after Badenoch stands by him

A former neo-Nazi activist has withdrawn as a Conservative council candidate after backlash over Kemi Badenoch's decision to back him. The BBC reports he stood down following pressure, while the Mirror says he previously subjected an MP to antisemitic and misogynistic abuse. GB News notes Badenoch faced criticism for her initial support.

The case raises the question every party eventually faces: where does rehabilitation end and risk begin? The Conservatives have accepted defectors from extremist movements before - the mechanism exists because some do change. But the timing matters. A local election candidate carries the party's name into every doorstep conversation, and voters judge not only the individual but the judgement of those who selected him.

Badenoch's initial backing suggests she believed the change genuine. The withdrawal suggests the party calculated the cost. The gap between those two moments is the space where political trust is tested. Rehabilitation is a real good; so is the voter's reasonable scepticism. Both claims have force, and neither resolves the other.

What to watch: whether the Conservatives publish the vetting process that cleared him, and whether other parties face similar questions before May. The country has a long memory for double standards.