Does Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron’s smashing re-election victory last week in the United Kingdom presage good fortunes for Republicans in the 2016 presidential race? We’re not making predictions. But history has shown a strong – although not perfect – coincidence between political events in “two countries divided by a common language,” a phrase attributed to playwright George Bernard Shaw.
Conservative Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 election preceded Republican Ronald Reagan’s by a year. Both championed curbing labor-union power, tax cuts to spur the economy, privatization and standing up to the Soviet Union. They became fast friends.
In 1993, Democrat Bill Clinton became president, ending 12 years of Republican rule, using “triangulation.” That meant getting rid of the more big-government policies of the party’s George McGovern wing in favor of some free-market policies and reforming welfare, while maintaining a progressive stance on abortion and other social issues. In 1997, the Labor Party’s Tony Blair was elected prime minister by promising what came to be called “Cool Britannia,” which jettisoned the strong socialism of longtime leader Neil Kinnock.
Mr. Cameron came to power in 2010, ousting Labor’s George Brown, the same year Republicans took back control of the House of Representatives. And his re-election came after Republicans scored huge victories last November in the House, while taking back control of the Senate.
