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

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the duo have something else in common. Each is a highly devout believer 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 switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, also sit on the steering committee 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 conservative Spectator magazine. Marshall is a practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Cross-Over Connections

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

However, direct comparisons quickly break down due to a simple matter of scale. While polling shows that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion 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 right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is quite different.

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

Further polling reveal backing from evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to permit assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, particularly regarding social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including all-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 faith informs her politics, notably on issues such as poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” she stated. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about inequality in society, ensuring we have a fair framework.”

Emerging Currents

There is, however a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on US concepts of religious nationalism.

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

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Islam content.

One striking 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 centre of London’s LGBT community.

A Niche Phenomenon

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

Kruger is not shy of occasional off-piste language, 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 more often be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

A parliamentarian of faith on the right noted 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. “For me, my faith is more a basis for what I already believe. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”