The Homeland Party is a fascist political party that splintered from Patriotic Alternative (PA) in April 2023. The group formed after Kenny Smith, PA’s National Administration Officer, led many of PA’s appointed officers to defect en masse, including the large majority of the Scottish and West Midlands branches and chunks of the East Midlands and East of England membership.

The split was strategic rather than ideological, borne out of a loss of faith in PA’s leadership and a desire to pursue “community politics” and local elections. However, the new group faces steep challenges.

Ideology and Strategy

Homeland seeks to revive the “ladder strategy” outlined by Steve Brady of the National Front. Writing in 1987, Brady contended that establishing power at the local level through sustained campaigning was a necessary precursor to national power.

Kenny Smith has also cited the British National Party’s Burnley branch as a particular inspiration. The BNP became the official opposition in Burnley council after selecting candidates embedded in local communities, who sought to channel the everyday concerns of residents into anger against the local Asian community and the Labour council. 

Homeland believes national elections to be “a waste of time, money and effort” without having already gained “control of the levers of power” at a local level. Smith has encouraged activists to join parish and community councils, the lowest tier of local government, in order to build political experience and local profiles, as well as to infiltrate trade unions, local parent councils, NHS trusts and even allotment societies to the same end. The group eventually hopes to leverage its control of local authorities to “resist and obstruct” national policies that it deems objectionable. 

Similar to the BNP, Homeland intends to exploit feelings of grievance in majority white neighbourhoods, for example by linking housing shortages, crime and conservation issues to immigration. In the words of its Nominating Officer Anthony Burrows, “people don’t want a highly polarised, ideological politics; they want something that appeals to their deep instincts”. 

The group therefore seeks distance from PA’s toxic reputation, hoping to establish what Treasurer Jerome O’Reilly has described as “a squeaky clean media image from the start”. Adopting inoffensive (and unoriginal) branding, the group largely foregoes the media-baiting stunts employed by PA, instead aiming for direct communication with the public at “the local nexus”. 

Of course, Homeland is just as rife with extreme bigotry as PA. Some members have pasts in hardline nazi organisations, such as the now-defunct Scottish Nationalist Society, have expressed an admiration for Hitler or have privately admitted that “normies” [normal people] recoil upon encountering their racist views. At the core of Homeland is the “White Genocide” myth, the belief that Jews are orchestrating demographic changes in a deliberate attempt to weaken and replace “indigenous” Brits. However, the group downplays such beliefs in public, referring euphemistically to “internationalist elites” supposedly behind “forced dissolution into a global mass”.

Homeland also seeks tighter controls on the online output of its members, hoping to avoid the leaks and scandals that have consistently blighted PA. The group has also criticised PA’s overreliance on online content production and the overuse of the messaging app Telegram, which is favoured by the far right but is little used by the British public.

Instead, the group has sought to infiltrate local Facebook groups, or create new groups made to appear as local community spaces, to promote its propaganda. Like PA, Homeland has attempted to use these groups to engage in campaigns against asylum accommodation sites, hoping to gain a foothold in communities. 

Progress and Prospects

Homeland possesses a small core of dedicated activists who are determined to learn from PA’s mistakes. In September, the group claimed to have selected 22 “local leads”, and in October announced that it had seven members sitting on community and parish councils, with more on the way. Nine months after its founding, the group succeeded in registering as a political party and will be looking to contest its first round of elections in May 2024.

However, Homeland faces considerable challenges. Only a minority of the PA membership defected to Homeland, and some initial defectors appear to have quickly returned to PA. While Homeland has activists in at least nine regions, they are often scattered and isolated. Even in regions where PA’s key organisers jumped ship – such as the South West and Wales – so far, the group has been virtually invisible.

Homeland initially also struggled to establish an online following. Collett and Towler had both built sizeable online audiences prior to founding PA and brought eyes and members to their organisation. Homeland has no comparable figure, and in October cancelled its sole regular stream, “HomeTalk”, after averaging a dismal 280 views on YouTube. However, the group has since shifted towards short-form video content on YouTube and TikTok, finding a far greater reach.

Homeland’s recent registration as a party has provided a bump in membership. However, the group’s extreme vetting procedure for full “activist” status – which requires photo ID and home visits – will undoubtedly alienate some potential sign-ups. As of March 2024, the group remains small, with an estimated 120-150 members in total.

Moreover, some of its initial forays into “community politics” through anti-migrant campaigning have faltered. This is clearest in Cannock, Staffordshire, where member Connor Marlow began courting local campaigners under the PA banner, culminating in a well-attended protest this March. However, their actions soon alienated local campaigners, and at a scheduled protest in April – Homeland’s debut demonstration – this forlorn fascist contingent were informed that they were not welcome. Homeland has since abandoned the campaign.

Now having presided over two major splits in the far right, it is unclear how successful Smith will prove in holding the new grouping together long-term. Homeland is predicated on the belief that white Brits face an impending extinction, and many of its younger activists have been radicalised in an antagonistic online culture that delights in violating liberal conventions and social taboos. The group may therefore struggle to contain its more radical elements through the prolonged and mundane minutiae of local politics.

Homeland is a new organisation with a long-term vision, and the political landscape is unpredictable. Committed fascists are attempting to infiltrate local institutions, and this demands the close attention of anti-fascists and campaigners. While achieving party status has given the group some much needed momentum at the start of the year, at present Homeland remains a peripheral political force.