🔗 Share this article

At recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive figures can often be seen in the forefront: the pale hair of 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 duo have something else in common. Both are deeply committed Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and hold trenchant views on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the family.

Connections and Convictions

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 controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Cross-Over Connections

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance 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.

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

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the wider picture here 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 level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

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

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, 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 don’t see voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism is present in parliament, including all-party faith-based meetings. But it is a reality also of the political left, with figures like Kruger countered by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

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

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about disparity 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 started to portray himself as openly a Christian, though a lot of this is done as a contrast to Islam.

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of Turning Point, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Islam content.

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

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes portray certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, associates maintain they are simply devout believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to sometimes unconventional language, 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 more often be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historic identity,” noted an analyst.

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

“I do not get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they said. “In my view, my faith is more a basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a vote winner.”