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During recent the Reform party media events, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the front row: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the duo have something else in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who found religion in adulthood, and hold trenchant views on social issues such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

Connections and Convictions

Kruger, an MP, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, are members of the steering committee of a conservative policy group known as 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. He is also a devout Christian.

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

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

But any closer comparisons soon fall down due to a basic issue of scale. While surveys indicate that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

An additional crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation here is quite different.

Research of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows Labour in the lead with 26% support. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are tied on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Other questions reveal backing from evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to permit assisted dying.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” said one advocacy head. “For example, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelical belief is present in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is explicit about how her beliefs shapes her politics, notably on issues such as poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a fair framework.”

A Newer Strain

Nonetheless, there exists a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on American ideas of faith-based nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has begun to present himself as openly a Christian, although much of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” combined with anti-Muslim content.

One striking manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group called King’s Army marched in formation 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 financial backers of US-style evangelism, associates maintain they are simply observant believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not averse to occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation influenced by a blend of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have some Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historical character,” said one commentator.

One Christian MP on the right observed that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt limited.

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