Christians are more likely to vote in the election today than the general population, a Bible Society survey indicates – and they're open to changing their minds about what party to vote for.
And they also have ideas about how political leaders compare with biblical characters, too, with respondents drawing some interesting parallels.
Bible Society stressed the survey completed in the week beginning May 29 by 1512 members of its Resonate panel was not representative of all Christians, as it was a self-selecting sample broadly similar to the organisation's supporter base. 'However, it does give an indication of the views of Christians who are actively interested in faith issues,' it said. 'While not representative, this group is important to listen to because they are the influencers of others.'
Participants were from all Christian denominations, were between the ages of 16 - 75 or over and were from all regions within the UK including Northern Ireland.
Research officer Gerry Stacey said: 'Our survey shows that religion and politics can and do mix with 96 per cent of Christians saying they will vote today. This is extremely high, as the figure for the UK, at the last election, (2015) was just 66 per cent.
'Our survey also shows high levels of engagement; we found that only 10 per cent always vote for the same party with the majority making their decision based on what they've heard during the campaign.'
Research by YouGov suggests that the typical Conservatve voter tends to be older, better paid but less educated whereas the typical Labour voter is younger, less well paid but better educated. However, Labour's apparent advantage among younger people is thought unlikely to turn into reality because research suggests that the turnout amongst the under 25's is only 51 per cent, compared to 75 per cent among the 65s and over.
Of the 579 participants who answered a question about whether their decision on who to vote for had changed following the London terrorist attack, 576 – 99.5 per cent – said it had not.
The survey also showed that among the Christians polled, the Conservatives are most trusted on the economy, crime, terrorism and Brexit negotiations. Labour is still trusted more in its traditional areas of health, welfare and education. UKIP's only strong showing was over controlling immigration, yet it still fell well behind the Conservatives.
Lastly, participants were asked which biblical character each party leader reminded them of most. The leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, reminded them most of John the Baptist, while the Liberal Democrats' Tim Farron reminded people of Peter.
Both the Prime Minister, Theresa May, and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reminded respondents of the Old Testament prophetess and war leader Deborah, drawing the comment: 'Somewhere in the wisdom of crowds are those who see similarities between May and Sturgeon. Possibly why they rub each other up the wrong way so much.'
