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At recent the Reform party media events, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the front row: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of senior adviser 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. Both are highly devout Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and hold trenchant views 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 conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

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.

However, direct parallels quickly break down due to a basic issue of numbers. While surveys indicate that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at the very most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another crucial element 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.

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

Other questions demonstrate support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, particularly regarding 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

Evangelical belief 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 the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is explicit about how faith informs her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a just system.”

Emerging Currents

Nonetheless, there exists a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by American ideas of faith-based nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to present 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 branch of Turning Point, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” combined with anti-Muslim content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied Christian nationalist group named King’s Army paraded 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 depict certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, associates insist they are little more than devout believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to occasional off-piste language, for example using a speech to condemn 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 tends to be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historical character,” 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 certainly don’t get the sense of much of an evangelical lobby,” they said. “In my view, my faith is more a basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a vote winner.”