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During recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive 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 could be the UK’s next government, the duo have something else in common. Each is a deeply committed Christian who found religion in adulthood, and hold strong opinions on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the family.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, also sit on the steering committee of a conservative policy group 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,” its followers providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

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 ties to the American faith-based populist world.

However, direct parallels quickly break down due to a basic issue of numbers. While surveys indicate that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

An additional crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation here is markedly distinct.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places the Labour Party in the lead with over a quarter backing. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

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

“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 firm stance on abortion, but they don’t see voting as a way to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelism does exist in parliament, including cross-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of 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 her beliefs informs her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” she stated. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about inequality in society, making sure 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 begun to present himself as explicitly 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 “re-embrace Christianity” combined with anti-Islam content.

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

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, friends maintain they are simply devout believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation 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 indoctrinated by a mix of ideologies.

“In the UK 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,” said one commentator.

One Christian MP on the right noted that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any connections beyond that felt restricted.

“I do not get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they said. “In my view, my faith is more a basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a vote winner.”