🔗 Share this article

During recent the Reform party media events, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the front row: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of James Orr.

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what might become the UK’s future administration, the pair share another trait in common. Both are deeply committed believer who came to religion in adulthood, and possess trenchant views on social issues such as abortion 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 conservative policy group known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who owns GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Cross-Over Connections

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 NatCon movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer comparisons quickly break down due to a simple matter of numbers. While surveys indicate that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

There is another crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation in Britain is quite different.

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

Further polling 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 dissonance between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “For example, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they do not view voting as likely to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelism does exist in parliament, including all-party prayer group meetings. But it is a reality 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.

She has been explicit about how her beliefs shapes her politics, notably on issues such as poverty.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about disparity in society, making sure 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 American ideas of faith-based nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has begun to present himself as explicitly Christian, though a lot of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of Turning Point, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” alongside anti-Islam content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a linked Christian nationalist group called King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, associates insist they are little more than devout believers who are firmly against any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example using a speech to condemn what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a mix 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 Christian nostalgia, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

One Christian MP 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. “For me, my faith is more a basis for what I already believe. And here, religion is not really a vote winner.”