James Orr, until recently a relatively obscure academic theologian, now ranks among Reform UK’s most influential politicians, having been appointed as the party’s head of policy in February, following a four-month stint as a senior advisor to leader Nigel Farage. Orr’s friendship with U.S. Vice President JD Vance is widely known. However, there are many details about Orr’s views and political affiliations that haven’t received much scrutiny.
He shared a stage with a white nationalist
As revealed by DeSmog and The Mirror, Orr spoke in March 2026 at CPAC Hungary, a political conference closely associated with Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and co-organised by groups funded by Viktor Orbán’s autocratic Hungarian government.
Orr shared a stage with Martin Helme, leader of the far-right Estonian Conservative People’s Party, who has expressed white nationalist views about immigration.
In 2013, Helme said that his immigration policy was: “If you’re black, go back,” adding, “I want Estonia to be a white country”.
