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At recent the Reform party press conferences, a pair of notable figures can often be seen in the forefront: the near-white locks of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of James Orr.

Beyond shaping the political agenda for what might become the UK’s future administration, the pair have something else in common. Both are highly devout Christian who found religion in later life, and possess trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the family.

Connections and Convictions

Kruger, an MP, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, are members of the steering committee of a rightwing thinktank called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is the financier Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. Marshall is a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to the US Vice-President that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct parallels soon fall down due to a simple matter of numbers. While surveys indicate that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation here is quite different.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places Labour in the first place with 26% support. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are tied on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Other questions demonstrate backing from evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted dying.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they do not view voting as likely to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including all-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the political left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

She has been very open about how her beliefs shapes her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “It stems from our foundations, how we think about inequality in society, making sure we have a fair framework.”

Emerging Currents

Nonetheless, there exists a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as explicitly Christian, although much of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Islam content.

One striking display of this, a linked Christian nationalist group called King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of American-style religious politics, associates maintain they are simply devout believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of occasional off-piste language, for example using a speech to condemn what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a mix of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have some Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

One Christian MP on the right observed that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt restricted.

“I do not get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they said. “For me, my faith is more a basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”