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Headline‘The stakes are higher’: more than half of Londoners are keeping an eye on the US election

Short Headline'This election is different': Why Londoners are paying attention

StandfirstA YouGov poll revealed that more than half Londoners are paying attention to the US election. UCL professor Julie Norman explains why.

According to YouGov, 55% of people in London are paying attention to the ongoing electioneering in the US, more than in any other region in the UK. CityNews asks why this election feels more important than in 2020 or even 2016.

Julie Norman, a professor of Politics and International Relations at University College London (UCL), says there are several reasons why this election is so important, particularly to Londoners.

She says that though there has been interest from Londoners in past elections, “this one feels different”.

She says, “the stakes are higher than ever. Between 2016 and 2020, fewer conflicts and major international events occurred. However, since 2020, wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan have started, and rising tensions in the South China Sea […]. A global pandemic also changed economies around the world.”

She continues, “London is a multicultural place, and you’re never far from someone who is touched by these issues”.

41% of Londoners were born outside the UK and 300 different languages are spoken in the capital.

“There is more fear now. Before, Trump was laughed at in Europe. Now, his views on NATO and isolationist tendencies actually scare people in the western world. […] They don’t know what he might do next”.

Julie Norman

This is not the first time the British public have shown their scepticism of Republican candidate Donald Trump. In 2018, an estimated 250,000 people protested against his visit in London.

Professor Norman says there is another reason for greater international interest in this election: “the drama is drawing people in. It’s entertainment value.”

In this election cycle, there has been a change in candidate for the Democrats and an assassination attempt on the Republican candidate. “These events draw people in from around the world”.

81% of Londoners surveyed by YouGov said that they have an “unfavourable” opinion on Trump, with only 10 percent thinking favourably of the Republican party as a whole.

People living in the capital are generally supportive of a Kamala Harris victory, with 69% saying they would like to see her as the next president.

However, Londoners always view the election differently to the Americans. In 2016, a YouGov poll said that 64% of people predicted that Hilary Clinton would win over Donald Trump.

As Americans head to the polls today, Londoners will watch as they wait for the result of one of the more important elections this year. The “special relationship” between the US and UK will depend on it.