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At recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be seen in the front row: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the political agenda for what could be the UK’s future administration, the duo have something else in common. Each is a deeply committed believer who came to religion in adulthood, and possess 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 Cambridge academic, 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 investment tycoon who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a devout Christian.

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” its followers providing the core 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 National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer comparisons quickly break down due to a basic issue of numbers. While polling shows that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another important factor to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation in Britain is markedly distinct.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places the Labour Party in the lead with 26% support. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are tied on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Other questions reveal backing from evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to permit assisted suicide.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “For example, someone might have a firm stance 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 faith-based meetings. But it is a reality also of the left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by 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 poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “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 influenced by US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has begun to present himself as openly a Christian, though a lot of this is done as a contrast to Islam.

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

In a dramatic display of this, a linked nationalist Christian group called King’s Army marched in formation 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 wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, associates insist they are little more than devout believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste language, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated 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 Christian nostalgia, linked to our historical character,” noted an analyst.

One Christian MP with conservative views observed that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together MPs with faith, any connections 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 foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”