'Judeo-Christian values' Potent mix of religion and politics at rightwing event

The splendours of the Parthenon, Colosseum and Great Pyramid of Giza were in stark contrast to the utilitarian conference centre in London's docklands, but they were there to make a point.

- Eleni Courea Harriet Sherwood Ben Quinn

As 4,000 people from dozens of countries filed in for a three-day jamboree of rightwing discourse this week, the images of the monuments were a reminder that great civilisations of the past had risen, declined and fallen. A commentary warned that western civilisation was at a tipping point, in crisis because it had lost touch with its "Judeo-Christian foundations".

The message greeted those attending a sold-out conference for politicians, policymakers, business people and "culture formers" organised by the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (Arc) at east London's ExCeL centre, where non-discounted tickets cost £1,500.

The leader of the Conservatives, Kemi Badenoch, and Reform UK's leader, Nigel Farage, addressed the gathering in person. From the US, Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel joined via videolink.

It was not explicitly a faith-based event, but a distinctly religious flavour ran through proceedings. The Arc's co-founders and principal faces are Philippa Stroud, a Tory peer and devout Christian, and Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist whose lectures draw heavily on the Bible.

Among the group's known funders is the GB News investor Paul Marshall, a hedge fund boss and media tycoon whose worldview is shaped by his evangelical Christian faith.

According to one well-connected former Conservative MP, Marshall's influence on UK rightwing discourse is growing, not just through GB News but also his ownership of the Spectator magazine and the Unherd website.

Marshall is not a member of any political party and said in a pre-conference interview that faith and politics were a "dangerous combination". But some rightwingers - energised by Donald Trump's victory in the US and beguiled by the rhetoric of his Catholic vice-president, JD Vance - see populist potential in advocating for "Judeo-Christian values".