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At recent the Reform party press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be seen 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 political agenda for what might become the UK’s next government, the duo have something else in common. Both are deeply committed Christian who found religion in later life, and hold strong opinions on social issues such as reproductive rights and the family.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who defected 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.

A further participant is the financier Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. Marshall is a practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has hosted 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 fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

There is another important factor to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is quite different.

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

Other questions reveal support among evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to legalise assisted dying.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” said one advocacy head. “As an instance, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelical belief 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 Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is explicit about how faith shapes her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “It stems from our foundations, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a fair framework.”

Emerging Currents

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

Tommy Robinson has begun to portray 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 branch of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Islam content.

One striking display of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group named King’s Army marched in formation through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

A Niche Phenomenon

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

Kruger is not shy of sometimes unconventional language, for example in an address 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 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 helped bring together MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt restricted.

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