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At recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive figures can often be spotted in the front row: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the political agenda for what might become the UK’s future administration, the pair share another trait in common. Both are deeply committed believer who found religion in adulthood, and hold strong opinions on social issues such as reproductive rights and the family.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the steering committee of a rightwing thinktank called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Cross-Over Connections

There are some links. Orr is sufficiently close to the US Vice-President that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the NatCon movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

However, direct parallels soon fall down due to a basic issue of scale. While surveys indicate that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the figure for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at the very most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

An additional crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the wider picture here is quite different.

Research of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows 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 support among evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted dying.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” said one advocacy head. “For example, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism does exist in parliament, including cross-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is explicit about how faith informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It stems from 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 present 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 “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Muslim content.

One striking manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied Christian nationalist group called King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

A Niche Phenomenon

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While commentators sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends maintain they are simply devout believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to occasional off-piste language, for example in an address to censure what he said was a younger generation influenced by a blend of ideologies.

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

One Christian MP on the right noted that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt limited.

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