🔗 Share this article

At recent Reform UK press conferences, a pair of notable heads can often be spotted in the forefront: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what could be the UK’s future administration, the pair share another trait in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who found religion in adulthood, and hold 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 university scholar, also sit on the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Cross-Over Connections

There are some links. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer parallels quickly break down due to a basic issue of scale. While polling shows that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another 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 in Britain is quite different.

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%.

Further polling reveal 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,” said one advocacy head. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they don’t see voting as likely to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

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

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

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” she stated. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a fair framework.”

A Newer Strain

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

The activist Tommy Robinson has begun to present himself as openly a Christian, although much of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of Turning Point, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Muslim content.

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

A Niche Phenomenon

These elements remain, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes portray certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, associates maintain they are simply observant believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to occasional off-piste language, for example using a speech to condemn what he said was a younger generation influenced by a mix 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 observed that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together MPs with faith, any links 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 already believe. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”