I landed in London as the British were waking up to Boris Johnson’s landslide victory. Over the course of the ensuing 
few days, I chatted with people I met about what they thought of the election outcome. Their responses lead me to predict four more years of Donald Trump.
Johnson’s wide margin of victory surprised many people, as did the large number of working class voters, who traditionally support the Labor Party but switched allegiance to the Conservative Party. It was not unlike blue-collar workers in the U.S. abandoning the Democratic Party to vote Republican, a party that prioritizes the wealthy at the expense of the modestly paid.
The U.K., England in particular, share similar socioeconomic challenges: insufficient affordable housing, stagnant upward mobility and competition for low-skilled jobs. Londoners I spoke with linked everything to a too generous immigration policy.
As a tourist, I found the ethnic diversity to be part of London’s charm. I heard dozens of different languages from people with a wide range of skin tones and clothing styles. I had many more options for food than what I’m used to in Chapel Hill.
But the Londoners I spoke with who held jobs that in the U.S. would be modestly paid saw that diversity as competition: for jobs, for inexpensive housing; for appointment slots in the socialized medicine system (although limiting immigration would reduce the number of doctors and nurses). Then there’s the history of the independence of the British Empire, underscoring the appeal of separating from the European Union.
Great Britain has some turmoil ahead as it works through Brexit. Likewise, the working class and middle class in the U.S. will struggle under an extended reign of Trump. What can we, as a town, do to mitigate that impact?
Clear a path for upward mobility. Given that Trump’s actions have inflicted the greatest pain on those at the lower end of the income scale, smooth the way for people to scootch up. The surest way to increase generational financial stability is through homeownership. In the U.K. and many European countries, lenders require 20%-50% down payment for a home, ensuring that only those with significant means already can hope to buy a home.
Buyers in the U.S. can borrow with only 3% down. A town program I pushed for gives town employees up to $7,500 toward a down payment, but not all employees are aware of the perk. Publicize that benefit.
Increase funding for Community Home Trust to expand its supply of affordable housing.
Prioritize the development of condos, townhomes and single-family housing over apartments that trap those of modest means in a vortex of increasing rents.
By moving up the socioeconomic ladder, people can move away from being targeted by Trump.
— Nancy Oates
