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

During recent the Reform party media events, a pair of notable figures can often be seen 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 future administration, the pair have something else in common. Each is a deeply committed believer who found religion in adulthood, and possess trenchant views on social issues such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of 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. Marshall is a devout Christian.

“Religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, 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.

Cross-Over Connections

Parallels do exist. Orr is sufficiently close to the US Vice-President that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer comparisons soon fall down due to a simple matter of scale. While polling shows that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another crucial element to consider. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that 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 tied on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

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

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, especially on social issues, and how people vote,” said one advocacy head. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they don’t see voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism does exist in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a reality present on the left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by Tim Farron and the Labour Party Member of Parliament Rachael Maskell.

She has been very open about how her beliefs informs her politics, notably on issues such as poverty.

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

Emerging Currents

There is, however a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by American ideas of religious nationalism.

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as openly a Christian, although much of this is done as a contrast to Islam.

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

One striking display of this, a Turning Point-allied nationalist Christian group called King’s Army marched in formation 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 wealthy incubators of American-style religious politics, associates maintain they are little more than observant believers who are firmly against any politicisation of faith.

Kruger is not averse to occasional off-piste language, for example using a speech to censure 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 historical character,” noted an analyst.

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

“I certainly don’t 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 really a vote winner.”