🔗 Share this article

During recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive figures can often be seen in the forefront: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what might become the UK’s future administration, the pair have something else in common. Both are deeply committed Christian who found religion in adulthood, and possess trenchant views on social issues 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 conservative policy group known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” with its adherents providing the core of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

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

A Different Landscape

There is another crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the wider picture in Britain is markedly distinct.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places Labour in the lead with over a quarter backing. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are tied 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 permit assisted dying.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they do not view voting as likely to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelism does exist in parliament, including cross-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the political left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is explicit about how her beliefs informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

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

A Newer Strain

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

Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as openly a Christian, although much of this is done as a contrast to Islam.

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of the Turning Point group, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” combined with anti-Islam content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a linked Christian nationalist group called King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of American-style religious politics, friends maintain they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not averse to occasional off-piste language, 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 some Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historic identity,” noted an analyst.

One Christian MP with conservative views observed that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt restricted.

“I certainly don’t 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 already believe. And here, religion is not really a vote winner.”