Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo: Getty/iStock)
A new report suggests that many Christians in Scotland are “politically homeless” as they turn away in droves from the parties that have dominated politics for decades.
While it was for a time a long-running joke that there were more pandas in Scotland than Tory MPs, the same fate may now be in store for representatives of Labour and the SNP, the latter having dominated Scottish politics for nearly 20 years.
The report, “Faith and Public Life in Scotland: A National Assessment of Christian Political Identity and Public Engagement”, found that support among churchgoers for the SNP had fallen from 22 per cent in 2024 to just 13 per cent today.
Support for the Conservatives dropped by nine per cent, while Labour support declined by 6 per cent.
The report claims that Christians are generally quite engaged with society but are “politically unsettled” and increasingly uncertain about who they should cast a vote for.
The main beneficiary of the changes seems to have been Reform, which has gone from just one per cent support among churchgoers to 14 per cent. Catholic and those attending Free church denominations were more likely to support Reform.
However, the largest change has been Christians who “don’t know” who they will support in the next election, rising from 16 per cent in 2024, to 42 per cent.
The polling found that the vast majority of Christians (72.4 per cent) believe the current Scottish government does not support Christian principles, while even higher numbers (81.3 per cent) agreed that Christian politicians often received criticism for their faith.
A relatively recent example might be Kate Forbes, who was heavily scrutinised for her Christian faith when she ran for the leadership of the SNP in 2023. At the time many commentators claimed her rival, Humza Yousaf, faced far less scrutiny for his Islamic beliefs.
The research was conducted by think tank Logos Scotland, whose chief executive, Shona Haslam, said, “There is a political vacuum when it comes to a values based, socially left, economically right party where constitutional issues are not the primary concern. When you have parties polling this closely with such a large don’t know element then the outcome of the election looks more up in the air than some polls might suggest.
“The Christian vote shifting to this extent, particularly in some remote rural constituencies could have a big impact. It will depend on where the electorate lands and whether they turn out to vote. What this poll shows is the political space that exists among this sizeable demographic that could make a big difference in certain parts of Scotland.”
Haslam added that Reform claiming to stand for Christian values may have helped their polling among churchgoers and may encourage other parties to do the same.
