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During recent the Reform party press conferences, a pair of notable figures can often be spotted in the front row: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s next government, the pair have something else in common. Both are highly devout Christian who found religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on matters of society such as abortion 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 steering committee of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” with its adherents providing the core of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to the US Vice-President that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct parallels soon fall down due to a simple matter of numbers. While polling shows that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another important factor to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the wider picture in Britain is quite different.

A poll 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 legalise assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “For example, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief is present in parliament, including cross-party prayer group meetings. But it is a reality also of the left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is very open about how her beliefs shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

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

Emerging Currents

Nonetheless, there exists a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by American ideas of faith-based nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has begun to present himself as explicitly Christian, although much of this is done as a contrast to Islam.

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

One striking display of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group called 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, fairly niche in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends insist they are simply observant believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated 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 longing for a Christian past, linked to our historical character,” said one commentator.

One Christian MP on the right observed 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 organized faith-based lobby,” they said. “In my view, my faith is more a foundation for what I already believe. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”