🔗 Share this article

During recent the Reform party press conferences, a pair of notable figures can often be seen in the front row: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair share another trait in common. Each is a deeply committed Christian who found religion in later life, and hold trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the family.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents providing the core of a particular political support.

Cross-Over Connections

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct comparisons soon fall down due to a simple matter of scale. While polling shows that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

An additional crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is markedly distinct.

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

Other questions demonstrate support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, particularly regarding 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 likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a reality present on the political left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

She has been explicit about how faith informs her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It stems from our roots, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a fair framework.”

Emerging Currents

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

The activist Tommy Robinson has started 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 branch of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” combined with anti-Muslim content.

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

A Niche Phenomenon

These elements remain, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, friends insist they are little more than observant believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation influenced by a mix 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.

A parliamentarian of faith on the right noted 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 already believe. And here, religion is not particularly a vote winner.”