The Homeland Party is a
far-right,
British nationalist political party in the United Kingdom. It was founded as a group in May 2023 by the activist
Kenny Smith, and registered as a party in January 2024.[1]
Organisation
The Homeland Party was formed predominantly by Scottish members who had abandoned the far-right
Patriotic Alternative (PA).[2] Its chairman is Kenny Smith, who founded it in May 2023.[2][3] He was previously the national administration officer for PA, and the head of administration and an unsuccessful electoral candidate for the
British National Party (BNP).[4][5][6]
The party's other registered officers also have connections with PA. Jerome O'Reilly was reportedly the Welsh regional organiser[7] and Ant Burrows East Midlands regional organiser for the group.[8]
The group first attempted to register as a political party in May 2023, but its application was rejected in August 2023 for being incomplete.[9][10] It was registered as a political party in January 2024.[11]
The party's nominating officer, Anthony Burrows, was found in court to have shared links to terrorist material.[15][16] Its founding members include former national officers, regional organisers and regional officers of PA. While he was in PA, the organisation's head of fitness, Kristofer Kearney, pleaded guilty to two counts of disseminating terrorist publications.[17] Kearney was a former host of The Absolute State of Britain (TASOB) podcast, which "has consistently featured explicit racism, misogyny,
anti-Semitism,
Holocaust denial, veneration of
[Adolf] Hitler, and apologism for Nazi atrocities and
right-wing terrorism."[18] TASOB was founded by Ashley Podsiad Sharp who was sentenced to eight years in prison for possessing a document which may be of use to a terrorist. [19] Podsiad Sharp ran a neo-Nazi fitness club with which Simon Shepherd, a member of the Homeland Party, was involved.[20]
In April 2023, Judge Manley ruled against Alec Cave, a prominent member of the party and the host for much of the party's video content,[21] in an employment tribunal relating to comments made by him about the actor
John Boyega.[22] In her ruling Judge Manley said of Cave's views, "This is not just a belief that is shocking, offensive or disturbing to others, though it may well be all those things. It is a belief that, in at least some respects, is akin to
Nazism."[23]
In October 2023, it was reported that David Gardner, a member of the party and treasurer of Forfar Community Council, had made racist and antisemitic comments and had taken part in a neo-Nazi chat group under a pseudonym.[24][25] Garden responded to the article, describing it as a "hit piece".[26]
Later in October 2023, it was reported that James Munro, a member of the party, had been involved in the neo-Nazi group Scottish Nationalist Society.[27] The party responded that "Munro had been involved as a disenfranchised teenager but has since grown up".[citation needed]
*
Co-operative Party candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party. †Sinn Féin have elected members and offices at Westminster, but as
abstentionists do not take their seats.