There is no direct equivalence between the UK’s historic decision to leave the EU and the extraordinary election of Donald Trump in the US. Yet to some extent, a number of common denominators explain both populist movements.
If centre-right movements want to survive across the Western world, they will need to consider how best to address these over the coming years.
First, ordinary families in the UK and US are facing similar economic challenges. Since the financial crisis, the standard of living for those on average incomes has fallen.
The process of deindustrialisation has been observed in both countries to a similar degree, affecting communities that used to be reliant on traditional industries.
Since 1980, both countries have moved from significant trade surpluses in manufacturing to substantial trade deficits. There has been some recent reshoring of manufacturing activity to the US on the back of the shale gas revolution, but evidence is increasingly suggesting that this trend may now be stalling.
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Date Added: Tuesday 15th November 2016
