Faith and Reform: Could the Conservative Christian Wing Gaining Ground in UK Politics?

At recent the Reform party press conferences, a pair of notable figures can often be spotted in the front row: the near-white locks of Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

As well as guiding the policy programme for what might become the UK’s future administration, the duo have something else in common. Each is a deeply committed Christian who found religion in adulthood, and hold trenchant views on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

A Network of Faith

Kruger, an MP, who switched allegiance from the Conservatives, and Orr, a Cambridge academic, also sit on the steering committee of a conservative policy group known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is the financier Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. He is also a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly Protestant evangelism, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents forming the bedrock of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to the US Vice-President that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the American faith-based populist world.

However, direct comparisons quickly break down due to a basic issue of scale. While surveys indicate that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelicals, the figure for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at the very most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

An additional crucial element to take into account. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the political right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance indicate the broader situation here is markedly distinct.

Research 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 demonstrate support among evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm about plans to legalise assisted suicide.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “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

Evangelical belief is present in parliament, including cross-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

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

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” she stated. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a just system.”

Emerging Currents

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

The activist Tommy Robinson has started to portray himself as explicitly Christian, although much 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, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Islam content.

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

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes portray certain figures as wealthy incubators of American-style religious politics, friends maintain they are simply devout believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

He has been not averse to sometimes unconventional 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 Christian nostalgia, 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 restricted.

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