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Welsh Christian Party

Welsh Christian Party

Type: Political Party / Regional Branch (of Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship") Party Registration: Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship" (EC Ref: PP2893) Website: http://www.ukchristianparty.org/ Founded: 2004 (as Operation Christian Vote); Welsh branch active from at least 2007 Founder: George Hargreaves Current Leader (overall): Jeff Green Welsh Leader: Jeff Green Status: Active (Authorised), Great Britain register BookStack page: TBC

Overview

The Welsh Christian Party (Plaid Gristnogol in Welsh) is the Welsh regional branch of the Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship", a minor Christian political party operating across Great Britain. The Christian Party also operates as the Scottish Christian Party in Scotland. The party is right-wing, socially conservative, and explicitly Christian in its political orientation.

The Welsh Christian Party is not a separately registered political party with the Electoral Commission. It operates under the Christian Party's registration (PP2893, registered 15 December 2015, following a de-registration and re-registration cycle after financial compliance issues). The party's previous registration (PP1992) was de-registered on 4 November 2015.

Founding/History

The party originated as Operation Christian Vote, founded by George Hargreaves, a Pentecostal minister and former songwriter, in May 2004. It was initially based in Stornoway, Scotland. Hargreaves contested the 2004 Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election (receiving 90 votes, last place) and the 2005 general election in Na h-Eileanan an Iar (receiving 1,048 votes, 7.6%).

The party became known as the Christian Party and developed Welsh and Scottish regional branches. In the 2007 Welsh Assembly Election, the party received 8,693 votes (0.9%) but won no seats.

In June 2012, legal action was taken against the Christian Party treasurer by the Electoral Commission for £2,750 for failure to supply accounts. The party de-registered in July 2012. After the regulatory six months, it re-registered under a new registration (PP2893) under the leadership of Jeff Green, who also serves as the leader of the Welsh Christian Party.

Leadership

  • Overall Leader & Welsh Christian Party Leader: Jeff Green
  • Scottish Christian Party Leader: Dr Donald Boyd
  • Treasurer: Sue Green
  • Founder (former leader): George Hargreaves

Faith Jarvis connection: The task brief noted a link to "Faith Jarvis". No public evidence connecting Faith Jarvis to the Welsh Christian Party could be found through web searches. Faith Jarvis may be a local candidate, officer, or supporter whose involvement has not been documented in publicly accessible sources.

Electoral Performance

Welsh Elections

  • 2007 Welsh Assembly Election: 8,693 votes (0.9%), no seats won
  • No candidates fielded in subsequent Senedd elections appear on the public record

UK General Elections

  • 2010: 71 candidates across the UK, 18,623 votes total
  • 2015: 9 candidates, 3,205 votes
  • 2017: 2 candidates (both in Scotland)
  • 2019: Alliance with Christian Peoples Alliance
  • 2024: 2 candidates fielded

European Parliament

  • 2004: 1.8% in Scotland constituency
  • 2009: 51,336 votes (2.9%) in London region, retained one deposit

Other contests

  • 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election: 76 votes (0.3%)
  • 2013 Eastleigh by-election: 163 votes (0.4%)
  • The party has consistently failed to win any seats at any level

Ideology

The Christian Party positions itself on the Christian right, with policies including:

  • Social conservatism: Opposition to abortion, opposition to same-sex marriage, making contraception for minors illegal without parental approval, opposition to LGBTQ rights
  • Immigration restriction: Points-based immigration system, private health insurance as visa requirement, "No Home – No Visa" policy
  • Criminal justice: Reinstate in loco parentis in schools, support parental authority over Social Services
  • Economic: Reduce public sector, promote personal fiscal responsibility, government-created money managed by Bank of England
  • Environment: Restore Sunday as a day of rest, challenge consumerism, sustainable resource use
  • Defence: Maintain nuclear deterrent, support just war doctrine, withdraw from Afghanistan
  • Euroscepticism: Referendum on Lisbon Treaty, negotiated immigration changes with EU
  • British unionism

Notable Welsh-specific controversy: In 2007, founder George Hargreaves campaigned to replace the Welsh flag (Y Ddraig Goch / the red dragon) with the Flag of Saint David, claiming the dragon was "nothing less than the sign of Satan." This generated significant backlash in Wales.

Controversies

  • Electoral Commission fines: The party was de-registered in 2012 after failing to supply accounts. Founder George Hargreaves was fined a further £3,000 on top of a previous £1,125 fine for continued non-compliance
  • Dragon flag controversy (2007): Hargreaves' campaign to replace the Welsh dragon flag with St David's flag as "the sign of Satan" was widely condemned
  • Anti-LGBTQ positioning: The party is categorised by Wikipedia under "Organisations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United Kingdom"
  • Atheist bus campaign response (2009): The party produced adverts saying "there definitely is a God, so join the Christian Party and enjoy your life," which received over 1,000 complaints
  • 2005 protests: The party was involved in Glasgow protests against "blasphemous" television comedy

Connections

  • Christian Peoples Alliance: Electoral alliance in the 2019 general election; the Christian Party originally split from the CPA
  • Alliance for Democracy (UK): National affiliation in 2010
  • Faith Jarvis: Connection noted in task brief but unverified in this research sweep
  • Scottish Christian Party: Sister regional branch, led by Dr Donald Boyd

Online Presence

  • Website: http://www.ukchristianparty.org/ (low-activity; may be partially defunct)
  • Scottish branch: http://www.scottishchristianparty.org (dead link)
  • The party's online presence appears minimal and dated

Research Gaps & Notes

  • Faith Jarvis connection unverified: No public evidence found linking Faith Jarvis to the Welsh Christian Party. May be a local candidate, officer, or internal figure not documented publicly
  • The Welsh Christian Party is not a separate registration — it operates as a regional branch of the Christian Party. This distinction matters when searching Electoral Commission records
  • The party appears largely inactive at the Welsh level — no Senedd candidates since 2007, minimal online presence, and no recent Welsh-specific activity identified
  • The party's peak was 2009–2010 — the EU election London result (2.9%) and 71 general election candidates represent its high-water mark
  • Current activity is minimal — 2 candidates in 2024 general election, website may be defunct, no evidence of active Welsh campaigning

Sources

  1. Wikipedia — "Christian Party (UK)", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Party_(UK)
  2. Electoral Commission Register — Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship" (PP2893), https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Registrations/PP2893
  3. Wikipedia — "Christian Party election results", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Party_election_results
  4. BBC News — 2004–2024 election coverage (various)
  5. The Guardian — "Christian party advert draws more than 1,000 complaints" (11 March 2009)
  6. Western Mail — "Christian group wants 'evil' Welsh flag changed" (3 March 2007)

Profile created: 4 July 2026

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