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During recent the Reform party press conferences, a pair of notable figures can often be seen in the front row: the pale hair of 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 future administration, the duo have something else in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who came to religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the family.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, also sit on the advisory board of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who controls GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” its followers 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 family home. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer parallels soon fall down due to a simple matter of numbers. While polling shows that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

An additional important factor 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 markedly distinct.

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%.

Other questions 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,” said one advocacy head. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they do not view voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

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

She has been very open about how faith informs her politics, notably on issues such as poverty.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about inequality in society, ensuring we have a just system.”

Emerging Currents

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

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 branch of the Turning Point group, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Islam content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a linked Christian nationalist group named King’s Army marched in formation through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the centre 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 American-style religious politics, associates insist they are little more than observant believers who are firmly against any politicisation of faith.

He has been not shy of sometimes unconventional language, 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 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 united MPs with faith, any connections beyond that felt restricted.

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