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During recent Reform UK media events, a pair of notable heads can often be seen in the front row: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of James Orr.

Beyond shaping the policy programme 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 later life, and hold trenchant views on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

Kruger, an MP, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the advisory board of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is the financier Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is sufficiently close to the US Vice-President that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer parallels soon fall down due to a basic issue of numbers. While surveys indicate that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

An additional important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation here is markedly distinct.

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

Further polling reveal support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to permit assisted dying.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “For example, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they don’t see voting as a way to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelism is present in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the political left, with figures like Kruger countered by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

She has been explicit about how faith informs her politics, notably on issues such as poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring 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 US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to present himself as explicitly 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 Turning Point, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” alongside anti-Islam content.

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

A Niche Phenomenon

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, associates maintain they are little more than devout believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

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

“Here in Britain 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,” 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 connections beyond that felt limited.

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they said. “For me, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”