How Britain’s July 4 Elections Differ From the U.S.

The Elizabeth Tower of The Houses of Parliament in London, England. Photo: Peter Nicholls/Getty Images.

As the United States celebrates its independence on July 4, its former colonizer is holding national elections. The center-left Labour Party is favored to win after 14 years out of power, in an era when far-right movements have gained ground in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Gary Gerstle, a U.S. historian who moved to England in 2014 to work at the University of Cambridge, spoke with Capital & Main about the differences in the way elections are held in Britain and the United States and what election results can tell us about the state of democracy worldwide. The British election, Gerstle said, is being watched by “authoritarians and democrats everywhere in the world” to see which side prevails, and that in the U.S., “a victory for Trump dramatically advances authoritarian rule.”