A FUNDAMENTALIST Christian group is to field candidates against every MSP in Scotland with the help of £500,000 from a mystery benefactor.

The Scottish Christian party, formally known as Operation Christian Vote (OCV), believes it can win up to six seats in Holyrood at the 2007 election.

The party — founded by the Rev George Hargreaves, a Pentecostal minister, will scrutinise MSPs’ voting records on issues such as abortion, euthanasia, homosexual rights and the controversial family bill, which will lead to quicker divorces.

It claims that the generous donation of £500,000 from a wealthy businessman, whose identity has not been revealed, will enable them to challenge every seat in the country.

At the last general election it spent just £10,000 on fielding 10 candidates in Scotland.

The party aims to fill a “moral vacuum” which deters many Christians from voting.

It points to the 2001 national census, which showed that 71% of the population consider themselves Christian — many, however, do not vote for reasons of conscience.

The party will also be receiving donations, capped at £200 each, from overseas supporters.

It claims responsibility for unseating Calum MacDonald, Labour’s long-standing candidate in the Western Isles during the last general election. The party ran a campaign scrutinising his voting record on “Christian issues” in a newspaper which was circulated to local voters.

MacDonald, who had held the seat for 18 years, lost to Angus MacNeil, the Scottish National party candidate, by 1,441 votes. Hargreaves polled more than 1,000. He beat the Tories to fourth place and narrowly failed to catch the Liberal Democrats by a handful of votes.

“We have received a substantial pledge from a member of the business community to enable us to fight every seat in Scotland,” said Hargreaves, who wrote the gay anthem So Macho for Sinitta, the 1980s pop singer. “It is somebody who does not normally contribute to political parties but was moved by his Christian faith to back us. We would still prefer to have a raft of donors, rather than rely on one. But at least we know the money is there.

“I am hoping we will get enough votes for between one and six list MSPs. I am confident we will get at least one and put a true Christian voice in Holyrood.”

Political observers, however, are less confident of the party’s success. “There have been a variety of Christian candidates. It may well appeal to people with very conservative Christian traditions but they’re not likely to do that well, unless this group comes up with someone very charismatic,” said John Curtis, professor of politics at Strathclyde University.

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