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At recent the Reform party media events, a pair of notable heads can often be seen in the front row: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.

Beyond shaping the political agenda for what might become the UK’s future administration, the duo have something else in common. Both are deeply committed Christian who found religion in adulthood, and hold strong opinions on matters of society such as abortion and the family.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, 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 NatCon movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct parallels soon fall down due to a basic issue of numbers. While polling shows that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly 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 places Labour in the lead with over a quarter backing. The Reform party and Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

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

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “For example, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they do not view voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism does exist in parliament, including cross-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the left, with figures like Kruger countered by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

She has been very open about how faith shapes her politics, notably on 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 just system.”

A Newer Strain

There is, however a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by American ideas of religious nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has begun to present himself as explicitly Christian, though a lot of this is done as a contrast to Islam.

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch 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 paraded through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of American-style religious politics, friends insist they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of sometimes unconventional language, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a blend of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it tends to 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 restricted.

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