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During recent the Reform party press conferences, 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.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair have something else in common. Each is a deeply committed believer who came to religion in later life, and possess strong opinions on matters of society such as abortion and the family.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the advisory board of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is the financier Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. He is also a practising Christian.

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” its followers forming the bedrock of Donald Trump’s support.

Transatlantic Links

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 soon fall down due to a simple matter of numbers. While surveys indicate that close to a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is about a tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

An additional important factor to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the wider picture here is quite different.

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

Other questions demonstrate support among evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap 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 a way to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including cross-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

She has been explicit about how her beliefs informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” she stated. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a just system.”

Emerging Currents

There is, however a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by US concepts of religious nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has begun to portray himself as explicitly Christian, although much of this is done as a contrast 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-Islam content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a linked nationalist Christian group named 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 simply observant believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not shy of occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a blend of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it tends to be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historical character,” said one commentator.

A parliamentarian of faith with conservative views noted that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together MPs with faith, any connections beyond that felt limited.

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an evangelical lobby,” they commented. “For me, my faith is more a foundation for what I already believe. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”