Brits Should Not be High and Mighty about the US Election Results

It’s almost hardwired into Brits to laugh at Americans. It’s essentially a knee jerk reaction to crack a joke when you hear about the most recent ‘Florida Man’ incident or the next crazy Texan Senator on X. But post election, the laughter is falling flat for me- because the joke is on all of us. 

Open the comment section of any TikTok regarding the US Election results, and like a slap in the face you’ll see comments along the lines of “As a Brit, I’m shocked by these results” or “I can’t believe they voted for him again”. The same narrative is repeated over and over by patronising Britons who place the UK on an ivory tower above the average American, in an attempt to detach this tiny island from any right wing rhetoric. 

But why are we doing this? Why have the British public been lulled into the perspective of “that sort of stuff only happens over there”, are we experiencing some form of short term memory loss? 

It only takes turning the clock back just 18 weeks to see America’s political results reflected almost perfectly onto the UK, and one glance at the statistics should destroy any current feelings of condescension amongst the British electorate. This July, 14.3% of Britons cast their vote for Reform UK. Exactly 4,117,610 people put their precious vote towards a faction led by Nigel Farage, making it the third largest party in the UK this year. 

Are you still laughing?

I’ll take it one step further- 23.70% of Brits voted for a Conservative Party led by Rishi Sunak, meaning 6,828,925 members of the Electorate saw a party riddled with sleaze and rising populist rhetoric to be the best choice to lead our country- and yet Brits will still bend over backwards to present themselves as above American voters. All you need to do is add together these Reform and Conservative votes to see the USA’s current reality is simply an echo of our future.

Why Does This Keep Happening?

I view the Western political landscape as a cycle, one which sees the election of a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” aka the centrist presenting itself as the left wing candidate here to fix the wrongs of the right- a role previously filled by Joe Biden in the USA. 

Inevitably, the wolf fails, leaving the door open for right-wing populist candidates to sweep up disenfranchised voters who have been sold lies of high immigration and even higher taxes. I’m sure you can guess who this is about. 

Finally, we have the fallout- nothing is fixed and unless you’re white, male and rich you’re probably not better off. So like clockwork, the wolf returns to “clean up the mess” and leave the door wide open for another, even further right-wing candidate. Rinse. Repeat. 

I placed Biden into the centrist position there to help clarify the context of the US election, however the reality is that this format can be placed upon any Western democracy- the UK? Take Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer and one day even Nigel Farage, it’s the reality we’re hurtling towards, and its already started.

Let me be clear, I am not suggesting we can’t be shocked by these results- the reality that Trump will be President again is scary, especially for women and minorities across the world. However, we must keep our eyes on the ball or our nations will fall to the exact same fate as America did last week. 

I’ll leave you with this- there’s a famous saying that goes: “When America coughs, Britain catches a cold” and these electoral results are only more proof that this doesn’t solely apply to foreign policy anymore.

Words by Poppy Grainger

Cover Image Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr