Rod Gazzard @rod_gazzard - Twitter Profile

5 months ago

Something new and uncomfortable is happening on parts of the British right. Religion is being rediscovered. Not as faith. As a political weapon. 1. Figures like Nigel Farage, Robert Jenrick and Tommy Robinson are increasingly framing politics in civilisational terms. Christianity vs. something else, Britain as a religious identity under threat. 2. But this isn’t a revival of faith. It’s a repurposing of it. Christianity is being used less as a belief system and more as a cultural marker. A way of drawing lines around identity. 3. That matters because it is, at its core, selective. The language of “Christian values” appears most often in opposition to immigration, to Islam, to social change. It is rarely accompanied by any serious engagement with the actual religion itself. 4. Genuine faith is inconvenient. It asks for consistency, humility, moral discipline. Political rhetoric is not. It is flexible, opportunistic and used when useful. 5. Which is why the current trend feels less like Reform have found God and more like hypocrisy. Religion is being used as shorthand for belonging, not as a guide to conduct. 6. There is also a clear political incentive. Framing issues in civilisational or religious terms raises the stakes instantly. It turns policy debates into existential struggles, where compromise looks like surrender. The irony is obvious. Many of the loudest voices invoking Christianity are not known for deep religious observance. The appeal isn’t theological. It’s tribal. 7. And that has consequences. Once politics is framed in these terms, it becomes harder to have serious discussions about policy such as migration, integration and housing because everything is recast as identity conflict. It also risks degrading religion itself. When faith becomes a political prop, it loses credibility as a moral force. Religion has always had a place in British public life. But there is a difference between faith shaping politics and politics exploiting faith. What we are seeing now looks much more like the latter.

DamianLow3's tweet photo. Something new and uncomfortable is happening on parts of the British right.

Religion is being rediscovered. Not as faith. As a political weapon.

1. Figures like Nigel Farage, Robert Jenrick and Tommy Robinson are increasingly framing politics in civilisational terms. Christianity vs. something else, Britain as a religious identity under threat.

2. But this isn’t a revival of faith. It’s a repurposing of it. Christianity is being used less as a belief system and more as a cultural marker. A way of drawing lines around identity.

3. That matters because it is, at its core, selective. The language of “Christian values” appears most often in opposition to immigration, to Islam, to social change. It is rarely accompanied by any serious engagement with the actual religion itself.

4. Genuine faith is inconvenient. It asks for consistency, humility, moral discipline. Political rhetoric is not. It is flexible, opportunistic and used when useful.

5. Which is why the current trend feels less like Reform have found God and more like hypocrisy. Religion is being used as shorthand for belonging, not as a guide to conduct.

6. There is also a clear political incentive. Framing issues in civilisational or religious terms raises the stakes instantly. It turns policy debates into existential struggles, where compromise looks like surrender.
The irony is obvious. Many of the loudest voices invoking Christianity are not known for deep religious observance. The appeal isn’t theological. It’s tribal.

7. And that has consequences. Once politics is framed in these terms, it becomes harder to have serious discussions about policy such as migration, integration and housing because everything is recast as identity conflict. It also risks degrading religion itself. When faith becomes a political prop, it loses credibility as a moral force.

Religion has always had a place in British public life. But there is a difference between faith shaping politics and politics exploiting faith.

What we are seeing now looks much more like the latter.

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rod_gazzard retweeted

Harry Eccles

@Heccles94

5 months ago

Reforms new shadow minister for child safeguarding

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Rod Gazzard @rod_gazzard

6 months ago

#GortonAndDenton https://t.co/zMObAAt4Et

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rod_gazzard retweeted

✨Joe✨

@JoeSteelerFan

6 months ago

The post was vile, disgusting, utterly reprehensible and indefensible. 🤬 The fact that the White House tried to spin it as an “error,” blamed a staffer, deleted it after 12 hours of public outrage, and then had Trump claim he “didn’t see that part” only makes it worse. That is the behavior of people who know exactly how racist it is and still chose to let it fly — until the backlash became too loud even for them to ignore. This isn’t politics. This isn’t “owning the libs.” This is raw, naked racism from the highest office in the land. It is beneath contempt. It is a stain on the presidency. It is an insult to every Black American, every person of conscience, and every generation that fought and bled to drag this country — inch by painful inch — away from the sewer of racial dehumanization. Anyone who defends this, excuses this, minimizes this with “but others got animal memes too,” or pretends this is just another day in the culture war is complicit in normalizing one of the ugliest, most poisonous symbols of white supremacy still in circulation. There is no both-sides here — No witty comeback. There is only shame — deep, burning, historic shame. This post was racist garbage. Full stop. 🛑 ✋🏽 And the fact that it came from the President of the United States in 2026 should make every decent human being furious. 😡

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