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At recent Reform UK media events, two very distinctive figures 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.

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what might become the UK’s future administration, the pair share another trait in common. Each is a highly devout believer who found religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on matters of society such as abortion and the family.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the steering committee of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who controls GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Cross-Over Connections

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to the US Vice-President that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer comparisons soon fall down due to a simple matter of scale. While polling shows that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

An additional crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation here is quite different.

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

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

“Sometimes with 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.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief is present in parliament, including all-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

She has been very open about how faith shapes her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It stems from our roots, how we think about inequality in society, making sure we have a just system.”

Emerging Currents

Nonetheless, there exists a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

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

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Islam content.

One striking display of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, associates maintain they are simply observant believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example in an address to censure what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a blend of ideologies.

“In the UK 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 historic identity,” said one commentator.

A parliamentarian of faith with conservative views observed that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any connections beyond that felt restricted.

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an evangelical lobby,” they said. “In my view, my faith is more a basis for what I already believe. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”