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At recent the Reform party media events, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the forefront: the near-white locks of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of senior adviser James Orr.

Beyond shaping the political agenda for what might become the UK’s next government, the duo share another trait in common. Each is a highly devout believer who came to religion in later life, and possess trenchant views on social issues such as reproductive rights and the family.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, also sit on the advisory board 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 Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been a key characteristic of US rightwing politics,” its followers providing the core of Donald Trump’s support.

Cross-Over Connections

There are some links. 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 connections to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer comparisons quickly break down due to a basic issue of numbers. While surveys indicate that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the figure for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

There is another important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political 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 places Labour in the lead with 26% support. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Other questions demonstrate support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to legalise assisted dying.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a dissonance between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people vote,” said one advocacy head. “For example, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they don’t see 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 countered by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

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

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” she stated. “It stems from our foundations, how we think about inequality 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 faith-based nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as explicitly Christian, though a lot of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Islam content.

In a dramatic display of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

A Niche Phenomenon

These elements remain, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While commentators sometimes portray certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, associates insist they are little more than devout believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not shy of occasional off-piste language, for example in an address to condemn what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a mix of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have some 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 limited.

“I do not get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they commented. “For me, my faith is more a foundation for what I already believe. And here, religion is not particularly a decisive electoral issue.”