The old adage that the Church of England is “the Tory party at prayer” apparently stays true, as recent research from Exeter University suggests Anglicans are “disproportionately stable” of their support for the Conservatives.
After 14 years in office and a string of short-term prime ministers, the Conservatives are possibly the weakest they’ve ever been of their centuries-long existence.
Recent polls by Ipsos Mori put the party on a median of 15 per cent, well behind the governing Labour Party on 25 per cent and resurgent Reform on 34 per cent.
It is entirely conceivable that, should the Conservatives survive this brush with death, it’ll be due to its ardent Anglican supporters.
The research, which was published within the Parliamentary Affairs journal, checked out responses to the 2009–22 UK Household Longitudinal Study survey.
Despite the period in query covering the ascension of David Cameron, Brexit, Covid 19, the controversial Liz Truss budget, coups, counter coups and unprecedented levels of third world immigration, nine out of 10 Anglicans indicated their views towards the party had not significantly modified.
Over a 3rd of Anglicans (39 per cent) said they intended to vote Conservative. The research suggests that Anglicans are five times more represented amongst Conservative supporters than Roman Catholics.
However, it isn’t only the Anglicans who appear to have an attachment to the Conservatives. Hindus, Jews and Presbyterians are also more prone to support the Tories. By contrast Muslims are less prone to support the Conservative Party.
Lead researcher Dr Ekaterina Kolpinskaya said: “The evaluation shows a fairly traditional picture of the Conservative Party faithful who feel a robust affinity with the party.
“It shows it’s incorrect to disregard religion as a predictor of core party support in modern Great Britain.
“While there may be some convergence on socially conservative issues among the many most important political parties in Great Britain, the Conservative Party continues to be a flagship organization that unites traditional social values with a vision of national identity which seems to have appealed to Anglicans between 2009 and 2022.”
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