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During recent Reform UK press conferences, a pair of notable heads can often be spotted in the front row: the near-white locks of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s next government, the pair have something else in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and hold strong opinions on matters of society such as abortion and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the advisory board of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is the financier Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who controls GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is sufficiently close to the US Vice-President that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

However, direct comparisons soon fall down due to a simple matter of scale. While surveys indicate that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the figure for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the wider picture in Britain is quite different.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places Labour in the lead with over a quarter backing. The Reform party and Liberal Democrats are tied on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Other questions reveal support among 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 cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they don’t see voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

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

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

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a fair framework.”

Emerging Currents

There is, however a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

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

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of the Turning Point group, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Muslim content.

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

A Niche Phenomenon

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes portray certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, associates maintain they are simply observant believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

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

“In the UK you do have a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it tends to be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historic identity,” noted an analyst.

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 certainly don’t get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they commented. “In my view, my faith is more a foundation for what I already believe. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”