Faith and Reform: Is the Religious Right Gaining Ground in UK Politics?

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

As well as guiding the political agenda for what might become the UK’s future administration, the duo have something else in common. Both are deeply committed believer who came to religion in adulthood, and hold strong opinions on social issues such as reproductive rights and the family.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the steering committee of a rightwing thinktank known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, 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.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his family home. Orr is also active in the NatCon movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer comparisons quickly break down due to a simple matter of scale. While polling shows that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelical Christians, the figure for the UK is about a tenth of that at the very most.

A Different Landscape

There is another crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the 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 the Labour Party in the lead with over a quarter backing. The Reform party and Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Other questions reveal backing from evangelicals for increased welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted suicide.

“Among evangelicals there can be a dissonance between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” 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

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

She has been explicit about how faith informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

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

A Newer Strain

Nonetheless, there exists a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on US concepts of religious nationalism.

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

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of Turning Point, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” combined with anti-Muslim content.

In a dramatic display of this, a linked nationalist Christian group named King’s Army marched in formation through Soho, a location seemingly chosen as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While critics sometimes portray certain figures as financial backers of American-style religious politics, associates insist they are simply observant believers who are firmly against any political exploitation of faith.

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

“In the UK you do have a few Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it tends to be a sort of longing for a Christian past, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

One Christian MP on the right noted that while the issue of assisted dying had united MPs with faith, any connections beyond that felt restricted.

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they said. “In my view, my faith is more a basis for what I already believe. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”