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At recent the Reform party media events, a pair of notable heads can often be seen in the forefront: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s future administration, the duo have something else in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who found religion in later life, and hold strong opinions on matters of society such as abortion and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

Kruger, an MP, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of the steering committee 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 rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to the US Vice-President that he has welcomed him at his family home. Orr is also involved in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer comparisons soon fall down due to a simple matter of scale. While surveys indicate that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another important factor 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 in Britain is markedly distinct.

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

Further polling demonstrate support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” said one advocacy head. “For example, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see 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 also of the 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,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a fair framework.”

Emerging Currents

Nonetheless, there exists a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on US concepts of faith-based 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 outpost of the Turning Point group, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Islam content.

In a dramatic display of this, a Turning Point-allied Christian nationalist 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 portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends insist they are little more than observant believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of sometimes unconventional 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 tends to be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

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 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 really a vote winner.”