Fascism and the British Countryside
The far right has long portrayed itself as the defender of a pristine nature against urban corruption, but its history in the British countryside tells a far more complex story about nationalism and rural life.
“Nationalism and environmentalism go hand in hand,” say the Homeland Party, one of the far-right groups who have gained recent prominence in recent months owing to their role in organising the often-violent protests against asylum seekers in Epping and elsewhere, “because we love our people and our land more than money or power.” Although I suppose it depends on what you mean by “our” people, and what you mean by “love” and “power.”
Homeland are a far-right splinter from a far-right splinter: of the BNP via Patriotic Alternative. While their parent organisation, PA, give off only a moderate whiff of blut und boden—“The UK”s beautiful and rich natural environment is part of our ancestral inheritance,” is the sum total of their environmental policy—Homeland go all in: greenbelt preservation, biodiversity, measures to curb pollution. They don’t approve of what they call “greenwashing” projects, like solar power, net zero, vehicle taxes, ULEZ or HS2. In fact, if you read on, it becomes apparent that Homeland’s environmental policies all circle one particular policy point: The greenbelt is being destroyed by population growth, which is driven by mass immigration. Biodiversity measures seem solely aimed at saving “the indigenous species of our homeland” (a comical comparison is made with New Zealand, which has about 96 endemic birds and mammals; England has none). And while it’s hard to argue against anti-pollution measures, in right-wing framings, as the Indian writer Mukul Sharma points out, “pollution dilutes and vitiates a hypothetically pristine socio-cultural fabric.” It’s always about purity.