🔗 Share this article

At recent the Reform party press conferences, a pair of notable heads can often be spotted in the forefront: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s next government, the duo share another trait in common. Both are highly devout believer who came to religion in adulthood, and hold strong opinions on social issues such as reproductive rights and the family.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, also sit on the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank 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. Marshall is a devout Christian.

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his family home. Orr is also active in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer comparisons quickly break down due to a simple matter of scale. While surveys indicate that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

An additional important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the 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 first place with over a quarter backing. The Reform party and Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Other questions demonstrate support among evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted dying.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap 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.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism does exist in parliament, including all-party prayer group meetings. But it is a reality present on the political left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

She has been explicit about how her beliefs shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “It stems from our roots, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a fair framework.”

A Newer Strain

Nonetheless, there exists a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by US concepts of religious nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has begun to portray himself as explicitly Christian, though a lot of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

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

In a dramatic display of this, a Turning Point-allied Christian nationalist group called King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the centre 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, friends maintain they are simply devout believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation influenced by a mix of ideologies.

“In the UK you do have some Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it tends to be a sort of Christian nostalgia, 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 connections beyond that felt limited.

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they commented. “In my view, my faith is more a basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”