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At 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 styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s next government, the pair share another trait in common. Each is a deeply committed Christian who came to religion in later life, and hold strong opinions on social issues such as abortion and the traditional family unit.

Connections and Convictions

Kruger, an MP, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of the advisory board of a conservative policy group known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents 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 active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer parallels soon fall down due to a basic issue of numbers. While surveys indicate that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the wider picture here is markedly distinct.

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

Other questions demonstrate support among evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted suicide.

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

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including all-party prayer group meetings. But it is a reality also of the political left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is very open about how her beliefs informs her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It stems from our roots, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a just system.”

Emerging Currents

There is, however a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on American ideas of religious nationalism.

The activist 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 outpost of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” alongside anti-Islam content.

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

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, associates maintain they are simply devout believers who are firmly against any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example in an address to censure what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a mix of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have a few 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.

A parliamentarian of faith on the right noted that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any connections beyond that felt limited.

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