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At recent Reform UK media events, a pair of notable figures can often be seen 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 next government, the pair have something else in common. Each is a deeply committed believer who came to religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on social issues such as reproductive rights and the family.

Connections and Convictions

Kruger, an MP, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, also sit on the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” with its adherents providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Cross-Over Connections

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

But any closer comparisons quickly break down due to a basic issue of numbers. While polling shows that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another important factor to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation here is markedly distinct.

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

Other questions demonstrate support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted dying.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between opinions, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” said one advocacy head. “As an instance, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see voting as a way to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief is present in parliament, including cross-party faith-based 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 very open about how her beliefs shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

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 counterpoint to Islam.

In a similar vein, 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.

In a dramatic display of this, a linked Christian nationalist group named King’s Army marched in formation through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, friends maintain they are simply devout believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

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

“In the UK you do have some Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

One Christian MP on the right observed 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. “For me, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”