During recent Reform UK press conferences, a pair of notable figures can often be seen in the forefront: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.
As well as guiding the political agenda for what might become the UK’s future administration, the duo have something else in common. Both are deeply committed believer who came to religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the traditional family unit.
Kruger, an MP, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the steering committee of a rightwing thinktank known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.
Another member is Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.
“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, 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.
Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.
However, direct parallels quickly break down due to a basic issue of scale. While polling shows that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.
An additional crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation here is quite different.
A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows Labour in the first place with 26% support. The Reform party and Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.
Other questions reveal backing from evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to permit assisted dying.
“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see voting as a way to lead to change.”
Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including all-party prayer group meetings. But it is a reality also of the left, with figures like Kruger countered by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.
She has been very open about how faith shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.
“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about inequality in society, ensuring we have a fair framework.”
Nonetheless, there exists a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on American ideas of faith-based nationalism.
Tommy Robinson has begun to portray himself as explicitly Christian, although much of this is done as a contrast to Islam.
In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch of the Turning Point group, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Islam content.
One striking display of this, a linked Christian nationalist group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.
All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, friends maintain they are little more than observant believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.
He has been not averse to sometimes unconventional language, for example using a speech to condemn 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 tends to be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historic identity,” noted an analyst.
A parliamentarian of faith with conservative views observed that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt restricted.
“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an evangelical lobby,” they commented. “For me, my faith is more a basis for what I already believe. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”
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