Leaked audio reveals fascist party Patriotic Alternative (PA) has undergone a catastrophic split, with former National Administrative Officer Kenny Smith leading a faction including a majority of PA regional organisers and officers, and forming a new party called Homeland.
During a meeting on Wednesday, PA leader Mark Collett made desperate pleas for members not to leave. PA’s deputy leader Laura Melia claimed that the split “makes us look absolutely stupid”, with another member describing the split as a “disaster”.
The split is due to disagreements over PA’s vetting processes, their failure to register as a political party, and Smith’s role. Smith was central to a split in the British National Party (BNP) in 2008 and is widely suspected as behind the leaking of the BNPs membership list.
Smith and his fellow travellers have accused the PA leadership of a “lack of political direction” and wide-ranging incompetency. PA has tried and failed six times to register as a political party, with applications rejected by the Electoral Commission for several reasons.
PA adopted strict vetting in 2020 after events were disrupted by anti-fascists. Prospective members are required to show photo ID and receive a home visit, which has hampered PA’s ability to grow. Collett recently proposed relaxing these measures - a move opposed by Smith.
According to leaked audio, Smith’s new party, Homeland, which formed on Wednesday, will have a newed focus on registering as a political party, “community politics” and contesting local elections, with less focus on online content creation.
During a Homeland meeting on Thursday, Smith suggested submitting an application to the Electoral Commission using a fake party name and appointing officers “unknown” to the authorities in order to avoid the application being rejected for political reasons.
Homeland aims to present a “squeaky clean” public image, believing they have a “clean slate for optics” without Collett, who was the subject of two embarrassing documentaries in the early 2000s and was later photographed next to a swastika-tattooed ex-girlfriend.
Defectors from PA who will likely perform key roles in Homeland include several former PA regional organisers: Anthony Burrow (East Midlands), Connor Marlow (West Midlands), Simon Crane (Scotland) and Jerome O’Reilly (Wales).
Our report, HOMELAND: British Fascism Fractures, details how fascist party Patriotic Alternative (PA) has undergone a catastrophic split, marking the end of PA’s reign as the largest and most significant fascist group in the UK.
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Patriotic Alternative, Homeland Britain
