Religion and Politics: Is the Conservative Christian Wing on the Rise in UK Politics?

At recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be spotted in the front row: the near-white locks of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the swept-back blond mane of James Orr.

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the duo have something else in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who came to religion in later life, and possess strong opinions on social issues such as abortion and the family.

A Network of Faith

The MP Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, also sit on the steering committee of a conservative policy group called the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

A further participant is Paul Marshall, the hedge fund millionaire who owns GB News and the rightwing Spectator magazine. Marshall is a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, 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.

Cross-Over Connections

Parallels do exist. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has hosted him at his private residence. Orr is also involved in the NatCon movement, which has ties to the US religious-populism world.

But any closer parallels soon fall down due to a basic issue of scale. While surveys indicate that close to a fourth of US adults are evangelical Christians, the proportion for the UK is roughly one-tenth of that at most.

The UK Evangelical Vote

An additional important factor to take into account. While US evangelicals lean firmly to the political right, new polling by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation here is quite different.

Research of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows Labour 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 more generous welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted dying.

“Among evangelicals there can be a gap between personal views, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” said one advocacy head. “As an instance, someone might have a firm stance on abortion, but they do not view voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism is present in parliament, including all-party prayer group meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the left, with figures like Kruger countered by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

She has been very open about how her beliefs shapes her politics, especially concerning issues such as economic disadvantage.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” she stated. “It’s part of our foundations, how we think about disparity in society, ensuring we have a fair framework.”

A Newer Strain

There is, however 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 begun to present himself as explicitly Christian, though a lot of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

Similarly, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK outpost of Turning Point, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “re-embrace Christianity” alongside anti-Muslim 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

All this remains, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as financial backers of US-style evangelism, friends maintain they are little more than observant believers who are strongly opposed to any political exploitation of faith.

He has been not averse to occasional off-piste rhetoric, for example using a speech to condemn what he said was a younger generation indoctrinated by a mix 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 historical character,” said one commentator.

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

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an evangelical lobby,” they said. “In my view, my faith is more a foundation for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”