🔗 Share this article

At recent the Reform party media events, a pair of notable figures can often be spotted in the front row: the near-white locks of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what could be the UK’s future administration, the pair have something else in common. Both are deeply committed Christian who came to religion in later life, and possess strong opinions on matters of society such as abortion and the family.

Connections and Convictions

Kruger, an MP, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, are members of the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is the financier Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also 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.

Cross-Over Connections

There are some links. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his family home. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

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

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is markedly distinct.

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

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

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people vote,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief is present in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is explicit about how her beliefs informs her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “It stems from our roots, how we think about inequality in society, ensuring we have a just system.”

Emerging Currents

Nonetheless, there exists a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by 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 counterpoint to Islam.

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of the Turning Point group, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” combined with anti-Muslim content.

One striking manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the heart of London’s LGBT community.

A Niche Phenomenon

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, associates maintain they are simply devout believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

He has been 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.

“Here in Britain 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,” noted an analyst.

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

“I do not 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 particularly a decisive electoral issue.”