🔗 Share this article

At recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the front row: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s next government, the pair share another trait in common. Each is a deeply committed Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and possess strong opinions on social issues such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

Connections and Convictions

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

Another member is the financier Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

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

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is markedly distinct.

Research of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows Labour in the first place 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 permit assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between opinions, particularly regarding social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “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 is present 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.

Maskell is explicit about how faith informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

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

Emerging Currents

Nonetheless, there exists a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on 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 counterpoint 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 “return to Christ” alongside anti-Muslim content.

In a dramatic display of this, a linked Christian nationalist group called King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of American-style religious politics, associates maintain they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any political exploitation 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.

“In the UK you do have a few 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 helped bring together 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 said. “In my view, my faith is more a basis for what I already believe. And here, religion is not particularly a vote winner.”