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

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s next government, the duo share another trait in common. Both are deeply committed believer who came to religion in later life, and hold strong opinions on social issues such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

Kruger, an MP, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” its followers providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to the US Vice-President that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer comparisons quickly break down due to a simple matter of numbers. While polling shows that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the figure for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation here is quite different.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places the Labour Party in the first place with 26% support. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling reveal support among evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to permit assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, 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

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

Maskell is explicit about how her beliefs informs her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

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

Emerging Currents

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

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to present himself as openly a Christian, although much of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of Turning Point, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” combined with anti-Muslim content.

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

A Niche Phenomenon

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends maintain they are little more than observant believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not averse to occasional off-piste rhetoric, 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 some 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 on the right observed that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together 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. “In my view, my faith is more a basis for what I already believe. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”