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At recent the Reform party media events, a pair of notable figures can often be seen 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 deeply committed believer who came to religion in later life, and possess strong opinions on social issues such as reproductive rights and the family.

A Network of Faith

Kruger, an MP, 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 Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a devout Christian.

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

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

But any closer parallels quickly break down due to a simple matter of numbers. While surveys indicate that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the figure for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is markedly distinct.

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

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

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they do not view voting as likely to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief is present in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the political left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

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

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about inequality in society, making sure we have a just system.”

Emerging Currents

There is, however a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by US concepts of religious nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has begun to portray himself as openly a Christian, though a lot of this is done as a counterpoint 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 “return to Christ” alongside anti-Muslim content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends insist they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of occasional off-piste language, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation influenced by a mix 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 historical character,” said one commentator.

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

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