🔗 Share this article

During recent the Reform party media events, a pair of notable figures can often be seen in the forefront: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.

Beyond shaping the political agenda for what might become the UK’s next government, the duo have something else in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and possess strong opinions on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

Connections and Convictions

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

A further participant is Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of American conservative politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his family home. Orr is also involved in the NatCon movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct comparisons quickly break down due to a simple matter of scale. While surveys indicate that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

An additional crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the wider picture here 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 level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling reveal support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between opinions, particularly regarding social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelism does exist in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the left, with figures like Kruger balanced out 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,” she stated. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about inequality in society, ensuring we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

There is, however a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has begun 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 branch of Turning Point, includes 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

These elements remain, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, associates insist they are little more than devout believers who are firmly against any political exploitation 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 a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

One Christian MP with conservative views noted that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt limited.

“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 decisive electoral issue.”