Berkley Center

It looks like it is not just us Americans: British folks are sick of mainstream politics, too. The Conservative, Liberal, and Labour parties, existing in one form or another, have dominated the United Kingdom Parliament for more or less its entire history, beginning in the early nineteenth century. However, two hundred years seems to have been long enough, and the country is now experiencing a rise of so-called "outsider politics."

A recently aired episode of BBC’s topical debate program Question Time showcased two eminent figures of outsider politics, comedian Russell Brand and United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, representing the left- and right-wing flavors of the trend respectively. During the show, Brand took aim at the banking industry. Not by coincidence, his rise to prominence, and the concomitant rise of outsider politics in Britain, began following the 2008 financial collapse. Growing disillusionment met with concrete grievances such as public sector cuts and falling real wages. Political party membership fell to an all-time low, and the average age of members reached an all-time high. In contrast, longhaired, charismatic, and abstaining from the traditional method of political participation (i.e. voting), Brand has unsurprisingly found support among Britain’s younger citizens.

Farage, as the name of his party would imply, called for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. Instead of banks, he blamed immigration and the European Union for a decline in living standards. The British public, at least in part, agrees: UKIP is the largest United Kingdom party in the European Parliament, and it recently secured its first elected seats in the United Kingdom Parliament. UKIP may have won votes by broadening its policies to include social ambitions, but it is becoming clear that this is just a means to their eponymous end.

While I cannot agree with Farage’s politics, I can see a sort of appeal in them. It has its roots in political restlessness, a feeling that "we have to do something." This feeling is itself may be a reaction to the centrism that came following the collapse, largely associated with Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats. Although Clegg claims his party was “standing up for the millions of people in the middle,” it seems to have been a none-of-the-above choice for most supporters. The wave of charisma-driven enthusiasm for Clegg—dubbed Cleggmania—has subsided after a few years of more of the same.

So the British and American post-collapse political experiences appear to share some characteristics. In Obama, like Clegg, we found personal appeal and hope. However, it lasted only so long. Outsider groups like the Tea Party and UKIP, led by personalities such as Sarah Palin and Farage, rose in the wake. But opportunism built around charisma is equally fleeting. Although the complacency of the center is unsatisfying, we can find little redress in reactionary groups that seek to cobble together enough defecting voters to gain power. In the coming elections in each nation, I predict voters will have had enough of charisma and shallow reactions. The winning candidate will offer ideas and solutions that actually improve lives.