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

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair have something else in common. Both are deeply committed Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and hold trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the family.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, are members of the steering committee of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” its followers providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close 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.

But any closer 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.

A Different Landscape

An additional important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation here is markedly distinct.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows Labour in the first place with over a quarter backing. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling reveal backing from evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to legalise assisted dying.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a dissonance between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “For example, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they don’t see voting as a way to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

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

Maskell is explicit about how faith informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It stems from our roots, how we think about inequality in society, ensuring 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 US concepts of religious nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to present himself as openly a Christian, though a lot of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

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

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied Christian nationalist group called King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location apparently selected 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, friends maintain they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example using a speech to condemn what he said was a younger generation influenced by a mix 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 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 connections beyond that felt restricted.

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they said. “For me, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a vote winner.”