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During recent Reform UK media events, two very distinctive heads 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.

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair share another trait in common. Both are deeply committed Christian who found religion in adulthood, and possess trenchant views on matters of society such as abortion and the traditional family unit.

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 known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” its followers providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Cross-Over Connections

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 National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct comparisons quickly break down due to a basic issue of numbers. While polling shows that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

An additional crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the wider picture here is quite different.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places Labour in the first place with 26% support. The Reform party and Liberal Democrats are tied on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling reveal backing from evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted dying.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “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

Evangelism does exist in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a reality also of the political 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 informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a fair framework.”

Emerging Currents

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

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to present 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, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Islam content.

In a dramatic display of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group named 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 critics sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends maintain they are simply observant believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not shy of sometimes unconventional language, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a blend of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have some Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historical character,” noted an analyst.

One Christian MP on the right noted that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together 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 particularly a vote winner.”