James Orr (philosopher)

James Tristan Ward Orr (born November 1978) is a British theologian, philosopher and political activist.

Orr was born in 1978.^[2][3] Orr was privately educated at Winchester College. After studying Classics at the University of Oxford where he was an undergraduate student of Balliol College, Oxford, Orr became a corporate lawyer first at Freshfields, then Sullivan & Cromwell, in London. He returned to academia to do a Master of Philosophy degree followed by a PhD in Philosophy of Religion at the University of Cambridge.^[4][3]

As of 2025 Orr is an associate professor of Philosophy of Religion at the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge; previously, he spent four years as a postdoctoral fellow at the McDonald Centre of Theology, Ethics, and Public Life at Christ Church, Oxford.^[5]

Orr is also a national conservative commentator and has been described by JD Vance as his "British sherpa".^[3][6][7][8] He has written for many publications on the themes of Christianity, academic freedom and the Trump-Vance administration.^[9][10]

Orr serves as chair of the Edmund Burke Foundation, which aims to strengthen the principles of national conservatism,^[11] and as a member of the advisory council of the Free Speech Union.^[12] He co-runs the Roger Scruton Legacy Foundation.^[13] He chairs the advisory board of the Centre for a Better Britain, a think tank formerly known as Resolute 1850.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Orr has links with numerous figures in politics. In 2021 Orr invited Jordan Peterson to speak at the University of Cambridge.^[18] In October 2025, it was announced that he has been appointed as a senior advisor to Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK.^[15]

He is currently Reform UK's Head of Policy.^[19]

Orr has been involved with a debate around free speech at the University of Cambridge. In 2020 he was one of those behind an amendment to the University's Statement on Freedom of Speech, seeking to replace the word "respect" for the opinions of others with "tolerance".^[20] He has argued that universities need to be "decolonised" from a "new form of soft imperialism, an ideology that is dividing us from each other, politicising our culture, and eroding our freedoms."^[21]

Orr opposes abortion at any stage in foetal development and under all circumstances.^[22][15]

Orr has described asylum seekers as "invaders".^[15] Orr has appeared on BBC Radio 4 for the Today podcast^[23] and the Moral Maze.^[24] Politico has described him as a leading figure in the British national conservative movement.^[6]

Orr's wife Helen Orr is an Anglican vicar in Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth.^[6][1]

Orr has said that he considered Charlie Kirk as a friend.^[25]