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At recent Reform UK media events, two very distinctive heads 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 might become the UK’s future administration, the duo share another trait in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who came to religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the family.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, 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 hedge fund millionaire who owns GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. Marshall is a practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Cross-Over Connections

There are some links. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his family home. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

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

A Different Landscape

An additional important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the wider picture in Britain is markedly distinct.

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

Other questions reveal backing from evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted dying.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” said one advocacy head. “For example, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they don’t see voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

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

Maskell is very open about how faith informs her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

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

A Newer Strain

Nonetheless, there exists a distinct and more recent 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, although much of this is done as a contrast to Islam.

Similarly, 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.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a linked Christian nationalist group called King’s Army marched in formation 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 commentators sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, associates maintain they are simply devout believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation influenced by a blend of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it tends to be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

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 restricted.

“I do not get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they said. “For me, my faith is more a basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”