🔗 Share this article

At recent Reform UK media events, two very distinctive figures can often be spotted in the forefront: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of James Orr.

Beyond shaping the political agenda for what could be the UK’s future administration, the duo share another trait in common. Both are deeply committed believer who found religion in later life, and possess trenchant views on social issues such as abortion and the traditional family unit.

Connections and Convictions

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

Another member is the financier 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 US rightwing politics,” its followers providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is sufficiently close to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

However, direct comparisons quickly break down due to a simple matter of scale. While polling shows that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

An additional crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation in Britain is quite different.

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

Further polling demonstrate support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to permit assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “For example, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they don’t see 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 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 shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” she stated. “It stems from our foundations, how we think about disparity 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.

Tommy Robinson has started to present 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 the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Muslim content.

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

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, friends maintain they are little more than devout believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not shy of sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation influenced by a blend 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,” said one commentator.

A parliamentarian of faith on the right observed that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt limited.

“I do not get the sense of much of an evangelical lobby,” they said. “For me, my faith is more a basis for what I already believe. And here, religion is not really a vote winner.”