🔗 Share this article

During recent Reform UK media events, two very distinctive figures can often be spotted in the front row: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

As well as guiding the political agenda for what could be the UK’s future administration, the duo have something else in common. Each is a highly devout believer who came to religion in later life, and hold strong opinions on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

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 rightwing thinktank known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

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

Cross-Over Connections

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 active in the NatCon movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer comparisons soon fall down due to a basic issue of scale. While surveys indicate that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelical Christians, the figure for the UK is about a tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

There is another crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the wider picture here is quite different.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows the Labour Party in the first place 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 permit assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” said one advocacy head. “As an instance, someone might have a strong opinion 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 all-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the left, with figures like Kruger countered by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

She has been very open about how faith shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “It’s part of our foundations, 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 US concepts of religious nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as explicitly Christian, although much of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch of the Turning Point group, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Islam content.

One striking display of this, a linked Christian nationalist group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

A Niche Phenomenon

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

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example in an address to censure what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a mix 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 Christian nostalgia, linked to our historical character,” noted an analyst.

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

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an evangelical lobby,” they said. “In my view, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”