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During recent Reform UK press conferences, a pair of notable figures can often be spotted in the forefront: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s future administration, the duo share another trait in common. Each is a deeply committed Christian who found religion in later life, and possess trenchant views on social issues such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, are members of the advisory board of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is the financier Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a devout 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

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his family home. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

However, direct parallels quickly break down due to a simple matter of numbers. While surveys indicate that nearly 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 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 over a quarter backing. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are tied on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling reveal support among 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,” said one advocacy head. “For example, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they don’t see voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism does exist in parliament, including all-party faith-based meetings. But it is a reality present on the political left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament 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 Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It stems from our roots, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

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

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as explicitly Christian, although much of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of Turning Point, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” combined with anti-Muslim content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a linked nationalist Christian group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

A Niche Phenomenon

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes portray certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, associates insist they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any politicisation of faith.

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation influenced by a blend of ideologies.

“In the UK 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.

One Christian MP on the right noted 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 evangelical lobby,” they commented. “For me, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”