🔗 Share this article

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

As well as guiding the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair share another trait in common. Both are deeply committed believer who found religion in adulthood, and hold strong opinions on social issues such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

Kruger, an MP, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, also sit on the advisory board 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 practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his family home. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer parallels soon fall down due to a simple matter of numbers. While polling shows that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at the very most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the wider picture in Britain is quite different.

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

Other questions reveal support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” said one advocacy head. “As an instance, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including cross-party prayer group meetings. But it is a reality also of the political left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

She has been very open about how her beliefs informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

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

Emerging Currents

There is, however a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on American ideas of faith-based nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has started to present himself as openly a 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” combined with anti-Islam content.

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

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, friends insist they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of occasional off-piste language, for example using a speech to condemn what he said was a younger generation influenced by a blend of ideologies.

“In the UK you do have some Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

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

“I do not get the sense of much of an evangelical lobby,” they commented. “In my view, my faith is more a foundation for what I already believe. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”