The Starmer model

BOSTON, Massachusetts — The Labour Party's sweeping victory in the United Kingdom's general election on July 4, 2024 already holds lessons for center and center-left parties elsewhere. But whether it would matter in the long run depends on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's ability to address his country's economic woes — a very tall order.

To their credit, the Tories showed respect for democracy by accepting defeat, with Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak graciously congratulating Starmer even before the vote count was final. It is impossible to imagine a scenario in which Donald Trump would do the same in this year's US presidential election. With many Republicans already preparing to deny any electoral defeat this November, further undercutting Americans' already low level of trust in institutions, the British example reminds us that we must never normalize such behavior. The US media and civil society have a duty to call out Trump and his allies' anti-democratic behavior at every turn.