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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 party policy chief Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what might become the UK’s next government, the duo share another trait in common. Each is a deeply committed believer who came to religion in adulthood, and possess trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the traditional family unit.

Connections and Convictions

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

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

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements 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 the US Vice-President that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

However, direct comparisons soon fall down due to a basic issue of scale. While polling shows that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the figure for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the wider picture in Britain is quite different.

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

Other questions demonstrate backing from evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “For example, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a reality also of the political left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

She has been explicit about how faith shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

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

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

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” alongside anti-Islam content.

One striking manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied Christian nationalist group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, associates maintain they are little more than observant believers who are strongly opposed to 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 longing for a Christian past, 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 links beyond that felt limited.

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they commented. “In my view, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a vote winner.”