DARTFORD, England (AP) — Like a damp summer haze, distrust has settled over the campaign trails in the United States and the United Kingdom ahead of the Fourth of July.
On that day, British voters will elect a up-to-date parliament. The election is expected to end with a Labour government after 14 years under the Conservatives. Americans across the pond, deeply divided by the rematch between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump, will mark Independence Day in a show of unity with barbecues and fireworks before casting their votes on November 5.
On July 4, there is much to celebrate for the world’s largest democracy and the venerable kingdom from which it was born – 248 years after their separation and the leisurely, arduous journey to giving all citizens the right to vote. Both countries are still founded on the Magna Carta, the English document of 1215 that enshrined the idea that heads of state – including kings, presidents and their governments – are not above the law. The two countries have become close friends and faithful allies.
That’s how it started.
In terms of developments, the period leading up to July 4, 2024 – Independence Day for one country, Election Day for the other – offers a snapshot of the stress test facing voters in each of those countries.
“I’m really very discouraged because I don’t think any of the parties know what they’re doing,” said Jacqueline Richards, 77, of Dartford, England, about her country’s elections. “But if you look at the elections in America, they’re not that great, are they?”
Trust is undermined in both countries
At the core of every democratic election is who voters trust to lead their country so that they can control their own lives.
Debates are real-time tests of candidate aptitude, especially during Thursday’s clash between 81-year-old Biden and 77-year-old Trump. Biden’s hesitant performance did anything but inspire confidence, even among some of his most faithful supporters. Trump, meanwhile, repeated his lies about the January 6, 2021, insurrection and his record as president.
This is just the latest example of why distrust and resignation dominate sentiment in both countries, voters told an Associated Press poll in recent weeks. From the battleground state of Wisconsin to the bellwether state of Dartford in England, voters said years of misinformation, scandals and lies have robbed them of the optimism and enthusiasm they might once have felt about voting or the future.
In Britain, 45 percent said they “almost never” trust governments to put the country’s interests first, up from just 34 percent in 2019, according to a poll released on June 12 by the National Centre for Social Research. The pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and the country’s cost-of-living crisis have affected living standards and the economy, the report said. Two Conservative prime ministers have been ousted. And Boris Johnson resigned rather than be thrown out of Parliament for boozy partying at 10 Downing Street when the country was under COVID-19 lockdown.
A vote to bring down the Conservative government is not necessarily a vote for Labour, opposition leader Keir Starmer acknowledged during a debate on May 27. Voters, he said, “still have questions about us: has Labour changed enough? Do I trust them with my money, our borders, our security?”
Starmer’s own answer, of course, was “yes.” But British voters told the AP in the weeks before the election that they were far from sure.
“They promise and promise and promise, and nothing ever changes,” says Shane Bassett, 34, bar manager at a pub in Dartford, England, where the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 is said to have started. “It doesn’t matter who comes in – Labour or Conservative, it’s all the same. They all lie.”
In the United States, trust has been eroded by increasing political polarization, misinformation, and Trump’s lies about Biden’s victory in the 2020 election – all of which have been amplified by social media.
About two in 10 Americans say they trust the U.S. government to do the right thing “almost always” or “most of the time,” according to a recent Pew Research Center poll. About six in 10 say they can trust the government “only sometimes,” and about two in 10 say they can never trust the government to do the right thing.
Nearly three-quarters of American adults blame the media for dividing the nation, according to a 2023 AP-NORC poll. Families and friends have learned to avoid political discussions at Thanksgiving tables and other gatherings. In many places, even Fourth of July celebrations – a national holiday on which Americans commemorate the ratification of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776 – fall under this practice of restraint.
In Racine, Wisconsin, 48-year-old Rebecca Eisel wondered how the extensive United States, home to 262 million eligible voters and the world’s largest economy, could face a rematch that few Americans wanted.
“How could our democratic process lead to something that the majority of the population does not like?” said Eisel, 48, over a sandwich at the Maple Table restaurant.
The United States: “The country is fighting”
The last time Kathleen Barker, 64, was enthusiastic about a candidate was Ronald Reagan, who served two terms in office in the 1980s and left office saying the country was a “shining city on a hill.”
“He was a very genuine person, very respectful and family-oriented,” she said while walking her dog near the river in Racine. “You could relate to him. He was just a regular person.”
Now, she says, the “ugly back and forth” between Biden and Trump – both of whom insist the other is unfit for office – suggests that neither can be trusted to deal with the substantial problems facing the United States.
“People are poor. The country is struggling. And that’s what they’re focusing on?” she said.
Emmanuel McKinstry, a 58-year-old businessman, expressed similar frustration. The economy, he said while waiting in line to hear Trump’s speech in Racine, was his top issue. The next morning, McKinstry said he would still vote for Trump — with reservations.
“I’m sick of politicians working for themselves and not really stepping up and asking people what we really want,” McKinstry said. “We’re putting you in office. What are you going to do for us?”
The last presidential candidate to inspire 49-year-old high school teacher Marcus T. West was Democrat Barack Obama, who served two terms in office.
“He understood the importance of educators. He had good intentions,” West said over breakfast at Mrs. Betty’s Kitchen. “He’s the last person I felt talked like me, talked to me, and passed policies that I liked.”
This year, he said of Biden and Trump, “they don’t care about us.”
Great Britain: “Not very optimistic”
In Britain, the mistrust is less personal in nature. It is about scandals – think of Johnson and the “Partygate” scandal – and the cost of living crisis.
On May 22, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had good news and a bombshell: inflation had fallen to 2.3% for the first time in three years and he immediately dissolved Parliament, setting in motion a timeframe that required a general election on July 4.
But it is the images that remain in our minds from that day. Rain soaked his suit-clad shoulders as Sunak spoke where his predecessors had stood for 275 years, in front of the iconic black door of 10 Downing Street. No one offered him an umbrella for protection. Protesters almost drowned out his words with “Things Can Only Get Better,” a rival Labour campaign song from the Tony Blair era.
“It can only get worse,” read the reports on several news sites.
That’s what worries Bassett, the manager of the Wat Tyler pub, named after a leader of the peasant revolt that began in the place. You’re not supposed to talk about politics in British pubs, he says – the counterpart, perhaps, to the American reluctance to stir up trouble at parties over the same subject.
But Bassett looked around the empty dining room at lunchtime. There were no guests to offend, so he let it go.
The pub’s energy bill rose from the usual £800 a month (about $1,000) to £1,200 (about $1,500) last winter. Since the Christmas period, the pub has struggled to attract customers for a quality beer at $4.50. He believes the owners are likely to sell the pub just four years after buying it.
“I’m not very optimistic,” he said. Referring to his family members in Canada, Bassett added: “If I could, I would leave the country.”
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Fernando reported from Racine, Wis. AP writer Jill Lawless contributed from London.
