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At recent Reform UK press conferences, 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.

As well as guiding the political agenda for what could be the UK’s future administration, the pair share another trait in common. Both are highly devout believer 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

Kruger, an MP, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of the advisory board of a rightwing thinktank called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

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

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Cross-Over Connections

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to the US Vice-President that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism 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 evangelical Christians, the proportion 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 lean firmly 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 Labour in the first place with 26% support. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are tied on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

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

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between opinions, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” said one advocacy head. “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 faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is very open about how faith informs her politics, notably on issues such as poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

There is, however a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on American ideas of religious 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, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Islam content.

In a dramatic display 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.

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of US-style evangelism, associates insist they are simply devout believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste language, 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 some 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 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 certainly don’t get the sense of much of an evangelical lobby,” they commented. “In my view, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”