Religion and Politics: Could the Religious Right on the Rise in UK Politics?

At recent Reform UK media events, a pair of notable figures can often be spotted in the forefront: the near-white locks of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of James Orr.

As well as guiding the political agenda for what could be the UK’s future administration, the pair share another trait in common. Each is a deeply committed believer who came to religion in later life, and possess strong opinions on matters of society such as reproductive rights and the traditional family unit.

Connections and Convictions

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, 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 controls GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. Marshall is a devout Christian.

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

Cross-Over Connections

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the National Conservatism movement, which has ties to the American faith-based populist world.

But any closer parallels soon fall down due to a simple matter of numbers. While polling shows that nearly a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

An additional important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the wider picture in Britain is markedly distinct.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals places Labour in the first place with 26% support. The Reform party and Liberal Democrats are tied on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling demonstrate backing from evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also concerted alarm 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,” explained a representative. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they do not view voting as a way to lead to change.”

Cross-Party Belief

Evangelical belief does exist in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon also of the political left, with figures like Kruger countered by the Lib Dem Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is very open about how faith shapes her politics, notably on issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Ethical fairness was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” Maskell argued. “It stems from our roots, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

There is, however a different and newer side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by US concepts of faith-based nationalism.

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

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of Turning Point, includes social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Islam content.

One striking 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 heart of London’s LGBT community.

A Niche Phenomenon

All this remains, however, fairly niche in UK politics. While commentators sometimes portray certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, friends insist they are simply observant believers who are strongly opposed to 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 indoctrinated by a mix of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have some Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it tends to be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historical character,” 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 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 really a decisive electoral issue.”