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At recent the Reform party press conferences, two very distinctive heads 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 political agenda for what could be the UK’s future administration, the pair have something else in common. Each is a deeply committed Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and hold 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 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 controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. Marshall is a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of a particular political 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 active in the NatCon movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct comparisons quickly break down due to a basic issue of scale. 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.

A Different Landscape

There is another important factor to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the wider picture here is markedly distinct.

Research of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows the Labour Party 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 permit assisted dying.

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

Cross-Party Belief

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

Maskell is explicit about how her beliefs shapes her politics, notably on issues such as poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about inequality in society, ensuring we have a fair framework.”

A Newer Strain

There is, however a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

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 outpost of Turning Point, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Muslim content.

One striking display of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group called 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 wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends insist they are simply observant believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not averse to sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a mix of ideologies.

“In the UK you do have some Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historical character,” 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 restricted.

“I do not get the sense of much of an organized faith-based 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.”