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During recent Reform UK press conferences, a pair of notable heads can often be seen in the front row: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair have something else in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who came to religion in later life, and possess trenchant views on social issues such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

Connections and Convictions

Kruger, an MP, 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.

Another member is the financier Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Cross-Over Connections

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the NatCon movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer comparisons soon fall down due to a simple matter of numbers. While polling shows that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

An additional crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is quite different.

Research of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places Labour in the lead with over a quarter backing. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling demonstrate backing from evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“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 strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including all-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the political left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is very open about how her beliefs informs her politics, notably on issues such as poverty.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

There is, however a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on American ideas of religious nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has begun to portray himself as openly a Christian, though a lot of this is done as a contrast to Islam.

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

One striking display of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group named King’s Army marched in formation through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While commentators sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of American-style religious politics, friends maintain they are little more than devout believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not averse to occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation influenced by a blend of ideologies.

“In the UK you do have a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historical character,” said one commentator.

A parliamentarian of faith with conservative views noted 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 commented. “In my view, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a vote winner.”