At recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the forefront: the near-white locks 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 pair share another trait in common. Both are highly devout Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and possess strong opinions on social issues such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.
Connections and Convictions
The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of the steering committee of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.
Another member is the financier Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who owns GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.
“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of a particular political support.
Transatlantic Links
There are some links. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.
However, direct comparisons soon fall down due to a simple matter of numbers. While surveys indicate that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.
The UK Evangelical Vote
An additional crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation in Britain is quite different.
A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows the Labour Party in the first place with 26% support. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.
Further polling reveal backing from evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted suicide.
“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see voting as likely to lead to change.”
Faith Across the Aisle
Evangelical belief 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 Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.
Maskell is very open about how faith shapes her politics, especially concerning 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 fair framework.”
A Newer Strain
Nonetheless, there exists a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by American ideas of religious nationalism.
Tommy Robinson has begun to portray himself as explicitly Christian, though a lot 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-Muslim content.
One striking manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group called 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, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends maintain they are little more than observant believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.
Kruger is not averse to occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation influenced by a mix of ideologies.
“Here in Britain you do have some 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.
A parliamentarian of faith 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 evangelical lobby,” they commented. “For me, my faith is more a foundation for what I already believe. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”
