Politics

May 28, 2026 Harold James

A combination of globalization, deindustrialization, and other forces destroyed the old model of party politics that long prevailed in developed democracies. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the United Kingdom, where voters are angry and demanding radical solutions that no political leader can actually deliver.

PRINCETON—UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s rapid loss of political authority has been widely seen as a British peculiarity. But the same malaise can be found across rich industrialized societies. Starmer may be an exceptionally decent and intelligent man, but like so many other leaders today, he faced an impossible task: navigating the treacherous path between the bond market and populist political demands.