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During recent the Reform party press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the forefront: the near-white locks of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair share another trait in common. Both are highly devout believer 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

Kruger, an MP, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” its followers providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

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

However, direct parallels quickly break down due to a basic issue of scale. While polling shows that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

An additional important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation here is quite different.

Research of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places the Labour Party in the first place with over a quarter backing. 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 concerted alarm about plans to permit assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including all-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

She has been explicit about how faith informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

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

Emerging Currents

Nonetheless, there exists a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on American ideas of religious nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has begun 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 Turning Point, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Muslim content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a linked nationalist Christian group called King’s Army marched in formation through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, friends maintain they are little more than devout believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste language, for example using a speech to condemn what he said was a younger generation influenced by a blend of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have a few 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,” noted an analyst.

One Christian MP with conservative views observed that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together MPs with faith, any connections beyond that felt limited.

“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 basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a vote winner.”