given for the separation of church and state: that not creating such separation tends to produce false piety, which is not what God wants.

I'm guessing that only goes so far and elected political office is too far.

However, it does vary with party and constituency. I think that a lot of the current problem is Tories pandering to potential defectors to UKIP, who are something of a British Tea Party.

As I've said before, I do think there are also American-influenced, small but nasty, Christian Right groups interfering with politics in some constituencies (mine included); but I don't know if this has been affecting Arbuthnot's constituency. I admit that I'd never heard of him before!

Ironically, despite this pressure to put on a Christian Anglican image, the Tories tend in practice to find most high-ranking Anglican clergy irritating nuisances, who bring up infuriating far-left ideas like the need to help poor people!

they appear to be frighteningly extreme and racist.

I know very little about the interface between these american christian rights groups in the UK, but I understand they are pretty rabidly anti-muslim.

desire to preserve traditional gender roles and 'morality'. Abortion and homosexuality are the biggest issues.

Christian Concern (formerly Christian Concern for Our Nation) is one of the most active organizations:

http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns

As regards UKIP, they tend to be generally xenophobic, Islamophobic and most of all anti-immigrant. Not all by any means are religious right-wingers; but a far higher proportion of UKIP voters than even Tory voters are likely to support religious-right attitudes. E.g. the Oxfordshire UKIP councillor who claimed that last year's floods were God's punishment for the UK introducing same-sex marriage!

are aligning themselves with the US christian right. I had heard mostly the anti-immigrant stuff, which someone was actually pushing here yesterday.

God and his floods. Pat Robertson said Katrina happened because of the big GLBT celebration that happens in NOLA every year. It's called Decadence and it's great fun.

Most surveys show that the UK is relatively less subject to racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, specific Islamophobia, etc. than many Europaean countries (which is not to say that we don't have these problems at all!); but is particularly hostile to immigrants as such.

Anti-immigrant bigotry is far commoner in England than religious-right attitudes; and many people have the first without the second. But the latter is worse, or at least more noticeable, than a few years ago. It was probably worse 30 or 40 years ago, however, when Mary Whitehouse was indulging in her little moral crusades.

One of my husbands friends has become absolutely intolerable, to the point where we can't really have a relationship with him anymore.

To some degree I am note surprised when I see it in highly homogenous countries, like those in Scandinavia. But I always thought of England as being more diverse. Not like the US melting pot, but with large integrated communities of Asians and Indians.

Given that our Deputy PM (similar to a VP) is openly an atheist and that atheism is generally no big deal here, it surprises me that someone would feel they had to hide their lack of faith. Of course, it could be something to do with teh Tories being conservative and courting the votes of teh most traditional.