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During recent Reform UK media events, a pair of notable figures can often be seen in the front row: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of senior adviser James Orr.

Beyond shaping the political agenda for what could be the UK’s future administration, the pair have something else in common. Both are highly devout Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and hold trenchant views on social issues such as reproductive rights and the family.

Connections and Convictions

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

A further participant is the financier Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his family home. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer parallels soon fall down due to a simple matter of scale. While surveys indicate that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the figure for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation here is markedly distinct.

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

Other questions demonstrate support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted dying.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “For example, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief is present in parliament, including all-party faith-based 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 explicit about how her beliefs informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

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

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.

Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as openly a Christian, although much of this is done as a contrast 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” combined with anti-Islam content.

One striking display of this, a linked nationalist Christian group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

A Niche Phenomenon

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 devout believers who are strongly opposed to 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 influenced by a blend of ideologies.

“Here in Britain 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 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 links beyond that felt restricted.

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they commented. “For me, my faith is more a basis for what I already believe. And here, religion is not really a vote winner.”