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At recent the Reform party press conferences, a pair of notable figures can often be seen in the forefront: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.

Beyond shaping the political agenda for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair share another trait in common. Both are highly devout believer who found religion in adulthood, and hold trenchant views on social issues such as reproductive rights and the family.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, also sit on the steering committee of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” its followers providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to the US Vice-President that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer parallels soon fall down due to a simple matter of scale. While polling shows that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is about a 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, 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. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Other questions reveal support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to permit assisted dying.

“Sometimes with 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 do not view voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism is present in parliament, including all-party prayer group 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.

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

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

A Newer Strain

Nonetheless, there exists a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on US concepts of religious nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has started to present himself as openly a Christian, though a lot of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

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

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

A Niche Phenomenon

These elements remain, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, friends insist they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any politicisation of faith.

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example using a speech to condemn what he said was a younger generation influenced 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,” noted an analyst.

One Christian MP with conservative views noted that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any connections beyond that felt restricted.

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they commented. “In my view, my faith is more a basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”