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During recent Reform UK media events, a pair of notable heads can often be spotted in the forefront: the near-white locks of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what might become the UK’s next government, the duo have something else in common. Both are deeply committed Christian who came to religion in later life, and hold strong opinions on matters of society such as abortion and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the steering committee of a rightwing thinktank known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Cross-Over Connections

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to the US Vice-President that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the NatCon movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer comparisons soon fall down due to a basic issue of numbers. While polling shows that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the wider picture in Britain is quite different.

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

Other questions reveal support among evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“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.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including cross-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

She has been very open about how faith shapes her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about inequality in society, ensuring we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

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

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

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

In a dramatic display of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

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

Kruger is not shy of sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example in an address to censure what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a blend of ideologies.

“In the UK you do have a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historical character,” noted an analyst.

One Christian MP with conservative views noted that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any connections beyond that felt limited.

“I do not 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 personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”