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During recent the Reform party press conferences, a pair of notable figures 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 might become the UK’s next government, the duo have something else in common. Both are deeply committed Christian who came to religion in later life, and hold strong opinions on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

Kruger, an MP, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, are members of the steering committee 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 rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his family home. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer comparisons quickly break down due to a basic issue of scale. While polling shows that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is quite different.

A poll 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%.

Further polling demonstrate backing from evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” said one advocacy head. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they don’t see voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism is present in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a reality present on the political left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by 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, making sure we have a fair framework.”

Emerging Currents

There is, however a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to present himself as explicitly Christian, though a lot of this is done as a contrast to Islam.

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Muslim content.

One striking display 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.

A Niche Phenomenon

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While commentators sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of American-style religious politics, associates insist they are little more than observant believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not averse to occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example using a speech to condemn what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated 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,” said one commentator.

A parliamentarian of faith 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. “For me, my faith is more a foundation for what I already believe. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”