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During recent the Reform party press conferences, a pair of notable figures can often be seen in the forefront: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of James Orr.

As well as guiding the political agenda for what might become the UK’s future administration, the pair have something else in common. Both are deeply committed Christian who found religion in adulthood, and possess strong opinions on matters of society such as reproductive rights 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 called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to the US Vice-President that he has welcomed him at his family home. Orr is also involved 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 scale. While polling shows that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

An additional crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is quite different.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places the Labour Party in the lead with 26% support. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level 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 suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” 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.”

Faith Across the Aisle

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

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

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It stems from our roots, how we think about inequality in society, making sure we have a fair framework.”

A Newer Strain

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

Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as openly a Christian, though a lot of this is done as a contrast to Islam.

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost 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 display of this, a linked nationalist Christian group named King’s Army marched in formation through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, friends maintain they are simply devout believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a blend 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 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 commented. “For me, my faith is more a basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a vote winner.”