Reform UK has named James Orr — an outspoken critic of same‑sex marriage and abortion — as a senior adviser to Nigel Farage.
Orr, a former corporate lawyer and an associate professor of the philosophy of religion at the University of Cambridge, was announced in a post on X by the party’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, on Sunday, 19 October.
“I’m delighted to welcome James Orr to Reform UK,” Yusuf wrote. “James is a brilliant academic, theologian, thinker. He has been a bastion of common sense and patriotism at Cambridge University. He has become a close friend and is someone who I believe will have a pivotal role in shaping the future of this country. James is now a senior member of our team, a senior advisor to Nigel Farage and will bring even more talented patriots to the Reform family.”
Orr has long campaigned for what he calls “traditional” marriage. In a 2023 interview with the Coalition for Marriage — an organisation that promotes marriage as between a man and a woman — he warned that equal marriage had “very important downstream ramifications” and suggested emphasising “the public good resulting from real marriage” to address those concerns.
In an interview with The European Conservative, Orr used incendiary language about migration, describing asylum seekers as “invaders” and arguing that long‑term migration was eroding national identity: “making it impossible for us to use the first‑person pronoun… it is becoming impossible to say: ‘We, the people’.”
He went on to single out alleged perpetrators in high‑profile abuse cases, saying: “I have nothing in common with those rapists in Oxford and Rotherham and Telford. I want nothing to do with them. I want them out of this country as fast as possible. They are not English, they are not British, they do not have any right to be members of our national family. And yet, I’m required by the liberals to pretend that they are as British as I am. No, when I use the word ‘we’, I will never have in my mind those people. Nor will I have in my mind the hundreds of people who land daily on the beaches of Dover and who… magically get a passport in five to ten years’ time.”
Orr has also been openly hostile to LGBTQ+ rights and care for trans youth. He described the community as “so‑called rainbow people, hyper‑liberal sexual progressives pushing identity politics” and criticised gender‑affirming care for young people as the “mutilation of children.” In another post he wrote: “I keep hearing even the fiercest critics of transgender ideology use phrases like ‘biological woman.’ Final victory will not be theirs until once again it sounds as odd to speak of a biological woman as it does to speak of a circular circle.”
His views have put him in contact with US right‑wing figures: Orr was a friend of Charlie Kirk, the conservative podcaster known for pro‑gun and anti‑LGBTQ+ positions, who was fatally shot during a public debate with university students last month.
Reform UK’s appointment of Orr signals an alignment with a senior adviser who has repeatedly called for stricter cultural and moral boundaries on issues such as marriage, migration and gender. The move is likely to draw scrutiny given Orr’s past commentary on migrants and LGBTQ+ people, and given the prominent public role he will now play advising Farage.
Reform UK appoints same‑sex marriage opponent James Orr as Nigel Farage’s senior adviser
Reform UK has named James Orr — an outspoken critic of same‑sex marriage and abortion — as a senior adviser to Nigel Farage.
Orr, a former corporate lawyer and an associate professor of the philosophy of religion at the University of Cambridge, was announced in a post on X by the party’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, on Sunday, 19 October.
“I’m delighted to welcome James Orr to Reform UK,” Yusuf wrote. “James is a brilliant academic, theologian, thinker. He has been a bastion of common sense and patriotism at Cambridge University. He has become a close friend and is someone who I believe will have a pivotal role in shaping the future of this country. James is now a senior member of our team, a senior advisor to Nigel Farage and will bring even more talented patriots to the Reform family.”
Orr has long campaigned for what he calls “traditional” marriage. In a 2023 interview with the Coalition for Marriage — an organisation that promotes marriage as between a man and a woman — he warned that equal marriage had “very important downstream ramifications” and suggested emphasising “the public good resulting from real marriage” to address those concerns.
In an interview with The European Conservative, Orr used incendiary language about migration, describing asylum seekers as “invaders” and arguing that long‑term migration was eroding national identity: “making it impossible for us to use the first‑person pronoun… it is becoming impossible to say: ‘We, the people’.”
He went on to single out alleged perpetrators in high‑profile abuse cases, saying: “I have nothing in common with those rapists in Oxford and Rotherham and Telford. I want nothing to do with them. I want them out of this country as fast as possible. They are not English, they are not British, they do not have any right to be members of our national family. And yet, I’m required by the liberals to pretend that they are as British as I am. No, when I use the word ‘we’, I will never have in my mind those people. Nor will I have in my mind the hundreds of people who land daily on the beaches of Dover and who… magically get a passport in five to ten years’ time.”
Orr has also been openly hostile to LGBTQ+ rights and care for trans youth. He described the community as “so‑called rainbow people, hyper‑liberal sexual progressives pushing identity politics” and criticised gender‑affirming care for young people as the “mutilation of children.” In another post he wrote: “I keep hearing even the fiercest critics of transgender ideology use phrases like ‘biological woman.’ Final victory will not be theirs until once again it sounds as odd to speak of a biological woman as it does to speak of a circular circle.”
His views have put him in contact with US right‑wing figures: Orr was a friend of Charlie Kirk, the conservative podcaster known for pro‑gun and anti‑LGBTQ+ positions, who was fatally shot during a public debate with university students last month.
Reform UK’s appointment of Orr signals an alignment with a senior adviser who has repeatedly called for stricter cultural and moral boundaries on issues such as marriage, migration and gender. The move is likely to draw scrutiny given Orr’s past commentary on migrants and LGBTQ+ people, and given the prominent public role he will now play advising Farage.
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