Seeing some of headlines in American newspapers of the UK election, I feel I should say something to my American friends. You may be aware that in the UK, we do not vote for Prime Minister (PM). It is even much more English than that, however. There actually is no PM in law per se. I was going to say ‘constitution’ but instead wrote ‘law’ because we have no constitution per se. Its all convention. Lovely, welcome to England. So by convention, the PM is typically the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons. At the moment, Theresa May is that party leader.As I live in the consistency of Dartford, I am voting for the Member of Parliament (MP) to represent Dartford in the Commons. This is only my second parliamentary election and I was much more clued in. This time around, I concluded that there are three things I might vote for: the party leader, the party manifesto, or the MP.
In this seven week election campaign (the last American presidential election campaign was more like 100 weeks), I found myself personally attracted to the personal views of the Labour party leader, to the views in the Green party manifesto, and to the personal views of Liberal Democrat party candidate running in my constituency. I am not sure how the typical British voter deals with this scenario.
The eventual outcome was that the Conservatives held the Dartford seat. Sure, I’m disappointed, but having met him at the hustings, I have no doubt that my MP is doing what he believes is best for our constituency and will do so in a civil, dignified, and respectful manner. I feel similarly about the PM. So while my view did not prevail in the election result, I retain a strong sense of hope that civility will rule the day, and I sincerely wish my MP and the PM well. That does not mean I am not determined to work toward my vision of the future. I just see bitterness as destructive, and as not ultimately serving my desired outcome. I got this attitude because it is all around me.This is where the American headlines claim that the UK is as divided as America is completely wrong. There may be a similar difference of opinion in the terms of percentages from election results. But in terms of bitterness, vitriol, and cynicism, there is no contest. I love and miss the country of my birth much in the way that I love and miss my parents. I pine for more time with family and friends living there, but I do not miss for one second the delusional comparisons, the hyperbolic overreactions, or the spontaneous dehumanisation of anyone with a different political view that have become the norm in politics and media there.
Photo Credits
Polling station sign: milkround
Results graphic: The Guardian
