🔗 Share this article

At recent the Reform party media events, a pair of notable figures can often be spotted in the forefront: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s future administration, the pair have something else in common. Both are highly devout Christian who found religion in adulthood, and possess trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the family.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of the advisory board of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

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

A Different Landscape

There is another crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation here is markedly distinct.

Research of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows the Labour Party in the lead with 26% support. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling demonstrate backing from evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

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

Faith Across the Aisle

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

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

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about inequality in society, ensuring 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 US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has begun to present 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-Islam content.

One striking manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

A Niche Phenomenon

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, associates maintain they are simply devout believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to sometimes unconventional language, 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 a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it tends to be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

A parliamentarian of faith on the right observed that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt limited.

“I do not get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they said. “In my view, my faith is more a basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”