A FORMER Scottish Labour councillor suspended for offensive social media activity and claiming “anti-white racism” was on the rise has been hailed as “brave” by the leader of a far-right ethno-nationalist party.

Kenny Smith, chair of the Homeland Party, told The National he commended Glasgow councillor Audrey Dempsey for “raising concerns about anti-white racism”.

He said: “In the current cancel culture climate, brave councillors like Audrey Dempsey get castigated simply for telling the truth and standing up for their constituents.

“I’m personally impressed by the work she has done on tackling poverty and applaud her raising concerns about anti-white racism which many Glaswegians have experienced over the years.

“These are things Homeland Party councillors fight for too.”

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It comes as The Times revealed earlier on Friday Dempsey had quit Labour citing “deep concern” about its direction.

Dempsey was suspended by the party pending the outcome of an investigation into her conduct on social media.

The Homeland Party are a right-wing nationalist party who espouse the “law of blood” theory of nations which holds that “membership of a nation is defined by ancestry rather than political or bureaucratic decisions”.

Dempsey had liked a number of tweets from the party following her suspension from Labour, the Daily Record reported.

Homeland’s strategy involves building up power at a local level, by gaining footholds in community councils, parish councils and the lower tiers of local government.

When asked by The National whether they had approached Dempsey to join, Smith said: “The Homeland Party does not as a rule, disclose details of its private discussions and negotiations with individuals or organisations.

“We have eight members who are parish and community councillors and we are making positive strides with our community politics focus.

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“Our sensible nationalism approach is gaining traction amongst many who are serious about improving the lives of people in their communities.

“This naturally includes people who have become disenchanted with their current political party.

“In the last few months, we have had members join us who had recently been members of Reform UK, Ukip, the Conservative Party and the SNP.

“Our activists have also spoken with traditional Labour Party members who see our defence of working-class communities in the face of a cost of living crisis created by Tory and Labour governments, who work for the rich and not the people, as something they can find common ground on.”

A spokesperson for the SNP group on Glasgow City Council said: "The British fascists of the Homeland Party are not welcome in Glasgow, never have been and never will be.

"For them to be talking up someone that Glasgow Labour vetted and put up for election should be a serious concern for Anas Sarwar and how his party selects candidates to represent the diverse communities of this city."

Dempsey, who runs the charity Glasgow's No. 1 Baby and Family Support Service, launched a stinging attack on her former colleagues when she quit on Friday. 

In her resignation letter, she claimed she had been the victim of a "vendetta" and added: "For some time now I have expressed my deep concern about the direction that the Labour Party is going in and that it no longer stands for working-class communities.”

A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: "Audrey Dempsey is no longer a member of the Labour Party.”

Dempsey was approached for comment.