# 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*