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

Beyond shaping the political agenda for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair share another trait in common. Each is a deeply committed believer who came to religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, are members of the advisory board of a conservative policy group 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 conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” its followers providing the core of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct comparisons quickly break down due to a simple matter of scale. While polling shows that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the figure for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

An additional crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation here is quite different.

Research of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places Labour in the first place with 26% support. 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 permit assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, particularly regarding 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 likely to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelism is present in parliament, including all-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 MP Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is very open about how her beliefs shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about inequality in society, making sure we have a just system.”

Emerging Currents

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 openly a Christian, though a lot of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Muslim content.

In a dramatic display of this, a linked Christian nationalist group named 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 critics sometimes portray certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, friends insist they are little more than devout believers who are firmly against any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to occasional off-piste language, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation influenced by a mix of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historical character,” noted an analyst.

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 limited.

“I do not 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 really a vote winner.”