Morning Note

The entire point of representative government is that voters can elect whoever they want, even if the people in charge despise their preferred candidates. The British don’t seem to care.

English officials may postpone at least seven county elections over fears that Nigel Farage-aligned conservatives could win. County leaders have specifically cited the purported risk that the Reform UK party could triumph in the contests in their arguments to cancel them, according to The Times. 

“We are lobbying hard for their elections to be delayed because we are confident we will get Reform mayors next year,” one council leader reportedly said. Allowing Reform victories would “create instability,” which could stand in the way of “what needs to be achieved,” he added.

Imagine if this happened in the United States. Say, if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had sensed it was going to lose last year and responded by denying Americans the opportunity to remove them from office. Such a plot would have been an actual “attack on democracy.” What’s happening across the pond is exactly that. 

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