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

Beyond shaping the political agenda for what might become the UK’s future administration, the duo have something else in common. Each is a deeply committed believer who found religion in later life, 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 university scholar, also sit on the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is the financier Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” its followers 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 family home. 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 basic issue of scale. While surveys indicate that close to 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 important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the wider picture in Britain is markedly distinct.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows Labour in the lead with over a quarter backing. The Reform party and 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 legalise 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.”

Faith Across the Aisle

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

She has been explicit about how faith shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

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

A Newer Strain

There is, however a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on American ideas of faith-based nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as explicitly Christian, although much of this is done as a contrast 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 “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Muslim content.

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

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While commentators sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends maintain they are little more than observant believers who are firmly against any political exploitation 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.

“In the UK you do have a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often 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 united 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 said. “In my view, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a vote winner.”