Faith and Reform: Is the Religious Right on the Rise in UK Politics?

At recent the Reform party media events, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the forefront: the pale hair of Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

Beyond shaping the political agenda for what might become the UK’s next government, the pair share another trait in common. Each is a deeply committed Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and possess trenchant views on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the family.

A Network of Faith

Kruger, an MP, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of the advisory board of a conservative policy group known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is the financier Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who controls GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a practising Christian.

“Religion, specifically Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of American conservative politics,” with its adherents providing the core of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close 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 parallels quickly break down due to a simple matter of numbers. While polling shows that close to 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 important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the wider picture in Britain is quite different.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows the Labour Party in the first place with 26% support. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

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

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap 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 do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

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

She has been very open about how faith shapes her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of Labour politics,” Maskell argued. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a just system.”

Emerging Currents

Nonetheless, there exists a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one more closely modelled on US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

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

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch of the Turning Point group, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Muslim content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a Turning Point-allied Christian nationalist group named King’s Army marched in formation 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 portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of American-style religious politics, associates insist they are simply observant 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 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 longing for a Christian past, linked to our historical character,” 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 connections beyond that felt limited.

“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 particularly a vote winner.”