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During recent the Reform party media events, a pair of notable figures can often be seen in the forefront: the near-white locks of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s future administration, the duo have something else in common. Each is a deeply committed believer who found religion in adulthood, 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 steering committee of a conservative policy group known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is the financier Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his family home. Orr is also active in the NatCon movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer comparisons quickly break down due to a basic issue of numbers. While polling shows that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is roughly one-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 political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation in Britain is quite different.

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

Other questions demonstrate backing from evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” said one advocacy head. “For example, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism is present in parliament, including cross-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

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

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about inequality in society, ensuring we have a fair framework.”

A Newer Strain

There is, however a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on American ideas of faith-based nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has begun to present himself as openly a Christian, although much of this is done as a contrast 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 “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Muslim content.

In a dramatic display of this, a linked nationalist Christian group called King’s Army marched in formation through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While commentators sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends maintain they are little more than devout believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not shy of sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example in an address to censure what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a mix of ideologies.

“Here in Britain 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,” noted an analyst.

One Christian MP on the right noted 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 organized faith-based lobby,” they commented. “For me, my faith is more a foundation for what I already believe. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”