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During recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be seen in the forefront: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the political agenda for what might become the UK’s next government, the duo share another trait in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who came to religion in later life, and possess trenchant views on social issues such as reproductive rights and the family.

Connections and Convictions

Kruger, an MP, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, are members of the steering committee of a conservative policy group known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is the financier Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

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

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

However, direct comparisons quickly break down due to a basic issue of scale. While polling shows that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

An additional important factor to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the wider picture here is quite different.

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

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

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” said one advocacy head. “For example, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they do not view voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

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 the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is very open about how faith informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Ethical fairness 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 fair framework.”

A Newer Strain

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

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

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch of Turning Point, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” alongside anti-Islam content.

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

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, associates insist they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste language, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated 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 historical character,” noted an analyst.

A parliamentarian of faith with conservative views noted that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together MPs with faith, any connections beyond that felt restricted.

“I do not get the sense of much of an evangelical lobby,” they commented. “For me, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”