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During recent Reform UK press conferences, a pair of notable figures can often be spotted in the forefront: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser 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 highly devout Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and possess strong opinions on social issues such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, are members of the steering committee of a conservative policy group 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. He is also a practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to the US Vice-President that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct parallels soon fall down due to a simple matter of scale. While surveys indicate that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, 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 tilt strongly to the right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is markedly distinct.

Research of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows the Labour Party in the first place with 26% support. The Reform party and Liberal Democrats are tied on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling reveal backing from evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted dying.

“Sometimes with 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 do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelical belief is present in parliament, including all-party prayer group meetings. But it is a reality also of the political left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is explicit about how her beliefs shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” she stated. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about inequality in society, making sure we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

There is, however a distinct and more recent 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 contrast to Islam.

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

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

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes portray certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, friends maintain they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example in an address to censure what he said was a younger generation influenced by a mix of ideologies.

“In the UK 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 observed that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any connections 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 basis for what I already believe. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”