🔗 Share this article

At recent the Reform party media events, a pair of notable heads 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 could be the UK’s future administration, the pair have something else in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who found religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on matters of society such as abortion and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who defected 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.

Another member is Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who controls GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to the US Vice-President that he has hosted him at his family home. Orr is also involved in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer parallels quickly break down due to a simple matter of scale. While polling shows that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

An additional important factor to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation here is markedly distinct.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows the Labour Party in the lead with over a quarter backing. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling demonstrate support among evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelical belief does exist 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 Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

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

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” she stated. “It stems from our roots, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

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 begun to portray himself as explicitly 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 the Turning Point group, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Muslim content.

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

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics 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.

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation influenced by a blend of ideologies.

“Here in Britain 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 noted 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. “In my view, my faith is more a foundation for what I already believe. And here, religion is not really a vote winner.”