It’s easy to look across the Atlantic and think the UK is shielded from the chaos of American politics, but the reality is that the same cracks are already starting to show.
We’re seeing a move away from traditional debate and toward a style of politics that’s more about picking a side than solving a problem. From the way our media landscape is becoming more fractured to the increasing influence of massive, unchecked donations, the UK is currently walking down a very familiar path.
If we’re not careful, we’ll end up with the same level of gridlock and social division that has made the US system so dysfunctional. These 13 mistakes are the specific warning signs that we’re repeating a history we should have learned from, and we’re running out of time to change course.
1. Introducing more private healthcare options
America’s healthcare system is the most expensive in the developed world and leaves millions uninsured or bankrupted by medical bills. The NHS is far from perfect, but the push toward private providers and two-tier systems risks creating the same mess. Once you allow private options to cream off the wealthy patients, public services deteriorate and costs spiral for everyone else. Americans spend twice what Britons do on healthcare with worse overall outcomes, yet some UK politicians keep pointing to American-style insurance models as solutions.
2. Creating massive student debt
American students graduate owing eye-watering amounts, often over $100,000, and spend decades repaying loans that affect their ability to buy homes or start families. Britain has already gone quite far down this road with tuition fees, but there’s constant pressure to raise the cap further and change repayment terms. The US experience shows that privatising education costs doesn’t improve quality and creates a generation drowning in debt that drags down the entire economy.
3. Letting political polarisation destroy functioning
American politics has become so tribal that basic governance is nearly impossible, with parties refusing to work together even on issues where there’s obvious common ground. The UK is heading this way, with increasingly hostile rhetoric and politicians who seem more interested in culture wars than solving actual problems. Once you reach American levels of polarisation, everything becomes about owning the other side rather than making things work, and the whole system grinds toward paralysis.
4. Allowing money to dominate politics completely
American politicians spend most of their time fundraising and become beholden to wealthy donors and corporate interests. The UK’s lobbying and donation rules are already concerning, but there’s pressure to loosen them further. When money flows freely into politics, ordinary people’s voices get drowned out and policy gets written by whoever can afford the best access. The American system proves that unlimited political spending doesn’t equal free speech, it equals plutocracy.
5. Gutting public broadcasting
Republicans have spent decades trying to defund PBS and NPR, leaving American media dominated by partisan outlets and clickbait. The BBC faces constant attacks and funding threats from politicians who’d prefer a media landscape like America’s, where there’s no trusted neutral source. Once you lose public broadcasting, you lose the shared reality that makes democratic debate possible, and every news source becomes suspect.
6. Privatising prisons
America’s private prison industry creates perverse incentives to keep incarceration rates high, and the profit motive leads to terrible conditions and resistance to sentencing reform. The UK already has some private prisons and keeps expanding the model despite clear evidence it doesn’t work. Private companies make money by cutting costs and keeping beds filled, which is the opposite of what a justice system should prioritise.
7. Neglecting infrastructure until it collapses
American bridges, roads, water systems and railways are crumbling because successive governments refused to fund maintenance properly. Britain’s infrastructure is already struggling with underinvestment, and the political will to fund major projects seems absent. The American example shows that deferring maintenance costs far more in the long run and eventually leads to catastrophic failures that kill people.
8. Tying school funding to local property wealth
American schools in wealthy areas get excellent resources, while schools in poor neighbourhoods can barely afford textbooks because funding comes from local property taxes. Some UK politicians advocate moving toward more local control of education funding, which sounds reasonable until you realise it creates massive inequality. Children’s educational opportunities shouldn’t depend on whether they live in an expensive postcode.
9. Weakening workers’ rights gradually
American workers have almost no protection compared to Europeans, with at-will employment meaning you can be fired for virtually any reason and minimal holiday or sick leave. UK employment law is still reasonably strong, but there’s constant pressure to reduce regulations and make hiring and firing easier. The American model shows that weaker worker protections don’t create more jobs, they just create more insecurity and inequality.
10. Defunding regulatory agencies
America has systematically weakened agencies meant to protect consumers, workers, and the environment, leading to preventable disasters from financial crashes to industrial accidents. The UK keeps cutting funding for regulators and talking about reducing red tape, which sounds good until you remember regulations exist because people died or got hurt. Underfunded regulators can’t do their jobs, and businesses that want to cut corners get away with it.
11. Ignoring climate science in policymaking
American climate policy has been hamstrung by politicians who deny basic science or prioritise fossil fuel interests over the planet’s future. The UK had been doing relatively well on climate action, but recent decisions to approve new oil and gas projects and water down green commitments suggest a shift toward the American approach. Delaying climate action makes it exponentially more expensive and difficult, as Americans are discovering with increasingly catastrophic weather.
12. Creating a hostile environment for immigration
America’s immigration system is deliberately cruel and dysfunctional, with long backlogs, family separations and lack of legal pathways that create chaos. The UK’s hostile environment policies and Rwanda deportation schemes are already heading this direction. Making immigration intentionally miserable doesn’t reduce numbers, it just ensures that desperate people take more dangerous routes and can’t integrate properly once they arrive.
13. Treating voting as a privilege to restrict
Republican-controlled states have spent years making voting harder through ID requirements, reduced polling places and voter roll purges that disproportionately affect minorities and young people. The UK’s introduction of voter ID and proposals to restrict postal voting are early steps down this path. Once you accept that voting should have barriers rather than being as accessible as possible, you’ve fundamentally misunderstood democracy.
