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During recent Reform UK press conferences, a pair of notable heads can often be seen in the front row: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane 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 believer who found religion in later life, and possess trenchant views on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, are members of the steering committee of a rightwing thinktank known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is the financier Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who owns GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. Marshall is a practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” its followers providing the core of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to the US Vice-President that he has welcomed him at his family home. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct parallels soon fall down due to a simple matter of numbers. While surveys indicate that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at the very most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another important factor to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is markedly distinct.

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

Further polling demonstrate support among evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

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

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism is present in parliament, including all-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

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

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

A Newer Strain

There is, however a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as explicitly Christian, though a lot of this is done as a contrast 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-Islam content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied Christian nationalist group named King’s Army marched in formation 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 critics sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, associates insist they are little more than devout believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not shy of sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example using a speech to censure 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,” 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 connections beyond that felt limited.

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