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At recent the Reform party press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the forefront: the near-white locks of 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 pair have something else in common. Both are highly devout believer who found religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the family.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the steering committee of a rightwing thinktank called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who controls 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 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 National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer comparisons quickly break down due to a basic issue of numbers. While surveys indicate that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another important factor to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the wider picture in Britain is markedly distinct.

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

Further polling reveal backing from evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to permit assisted dying.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” 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 is present in parliament, including all-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the left, with figures like Kruger countered by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

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

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

Emerging Currents

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, although much of this is done as a contrast 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 “return to Christ” combined with anti-Muslim content.

In a dramatic manifestation 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

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes portray certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, associates maintain they are little more than devout believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a blend of ideologies.

“In the UK you do have some 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.

One Christian MP on the right observed that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt restricted.

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