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During recent the Reform party media events, a pair of notable figures can often be spotted in the front row: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of James Orr.

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what might become the UK’s future administration, the pair have something else in common. Each is a deeply committed Christian who came to religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on matters of society 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, also sit on the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank known as 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 practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” its followers providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Cross-Over Connections

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

However, direct parallels 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 about a tenth of that at the very most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

An additional crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation here is markedly distinct.

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

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

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “As an instance, 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 cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the political left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is explicit about how faith shapes her politics, notably on issues such as poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It stems from our foundations, how we think about inequality 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.

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

In a similar vein, 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.

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

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, friends insist they are little more than devout believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste language, for example using a speech 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 historic identity,” noted an analyst.

A parliamentarian of faith with conservative views observed that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any connections 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.”