Has UKIP transitioned into an out-and-out fascist party?

I've been meaning to mention this for a while.  For reasons lost in the mists of time, I've been on the UKIP mailing list for years - I suppose I could just unsubscribe, but then I'd miss the hilarity of receiving messages from Neil Hamilton starting with words along the lines of "Dear Loyal Follower".  Anyway, two weeks ago, just after the Italian general election, UKIP sent out an email saluting Giorgia Meloni's win, which it took partial credit for in the context of a more general "march of the patriotic right across Europe".  It praised Italian voters for backing "common sense" change in the form of an anti-immigrant government that prioritises the traditional family.

Now, so far, this perspective perhaps shouldn't be particularly surprising or shocking, because many right-of-centre commentators and politicians across Europe have argued that Meloni and Brothers of Italy are being mischaracterised as far-right, and that they should really be regarded as mainstream conservatives rather than as fascists.  But there's one line in the UKIP email that gives the game away that the praise for Meloni is intended to mean something rather different from this.

"Giorgia Meloni of Brothers of Italy is now in pole position to become Italy’s first female prime minister and she is now likely to lead Italy’s most truly right-wing government since the 1940s."

I cannot see any possible interpretation of these words other than that UKIP is speaking approvingly of Mussolini's government and suggesting it was the last decent government Italy had until now.  Just a gentle reminder at this stage: not only was Mussolini a fascist and the dictator of a one-party state, but he was also one of Britain's principal enemies in the Second World War.  It's curious for any British "patriotic party" to take the position that Britain was on the wrong side against the Axis powers, but presumably that's exactly what UKIP believe.

Now, I suppose you could argue that UKIP is just a lunatic fringe party these days and that none of this really matters.  Farage and his supporters deserted it en masse several years ago to form the Brexit Party, leaving behind only a rump of nutters.  But it's led by a household name in the shape of Hamilton, it had a seat in the Welsh Parliament as recently as eighteen months ago, and according to Wikipedia it has seven local council seats even now.  It's a bit startling to find that such a party has become openly fascist in its sympathies.

PS. The UKIP email cluelessly claims that the Swedish left have just lost power for the first time in the modern era.  In fact, the Social Democrats were last out of power as recently as eight years ago.

PPS. I'm also on the mailing list of pretty much every other party too - apart, annoyingly, from the Liberal Democrats.  I constantly worry that I'm missing out on invaluable advice on "fast bowling" technique from Alex Cole-Hamilton.

PPPS. You can catch up with the latest Scot Goes Popcast, about how voting Labour in Scotland could help elect a Tory government, HERE.

The vote to elect members of the National Executive Committee will take place during Alba's annual conference, to be held in Stirling on 15th-16th October.  If you're an Alba member, I believe it's still possible to purchase a conference pass HERE, and if you're not yet an Alba member, you can join the party HERE.