On Sept. 23, the Political Science 215 — Political Theory — class deviated from its usual lecture format and welcomed a roundtable discussion featuring U.S. political representatives and Sir Robert Buckland from Britain. 

The Right Honorable Sir Buckland is a member of the conservative party, holding a seat in Parliament from 2010 until this year. He served as the Secretary of State of Justice, Secretary of State for Wales and held the position of Lord Chancellor from 2019 to 2021.  

The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the ruling monarch on the advice of the current prime minister and is the senior member of the Cabinet. This position is one of the most ancient offices of state. 

Buckland is also the first person to be knighted by King Charles III two years ago. 

“(I got here) through my friendship with representative (Lucy) Dathan,” Buckland said in a post panel interview with The Chronicle. “I’m in Connecticut for a few days and what I like to do is mix my social life with work. Politics is in my blood, when I was asked to take part, I liked to come in and share my thoughts.” 

Buckland was joined by three other panelists from various areas of U.S. politics: John Ashford, political analyst; Lucy Dathan, state representative of Norwalk and New Canaan — and the first Democrat in her seat — and William Tong, Connecticut’s attorney general. 

John McGee, former vice president of public policy and programs and commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development, moderated the panel. 

“It happened very last minute, I got a phone call and I was asked if I wanted to put on a few folks who work in politics and I said well this is perfect for a class on elections and political parties,” said Candice Travis, visiting assistant professor of political science and the course instructor. “I think it’s important insight that I couldn’t provide as a professor who studies it but doesn’t do it.”  

The panel focused on the recent British election as well as the lessons and comparisons with the upcoming U.S. presidential election, which tailors towards the course curriculum. 

On July 4, the Labour Party won the British election by a landslide, securing 404 seats out of the 650 in the House of Commons. The Conservative Party, which was in power for 14 years before this year, only got 121.

Britain’s government is run by a prime minister and is separated into the House of Lords and House of Commons. Every five years, citizens vote for their Members of Parliament, in a first-past-the-post system, and the party with the most MPs makes up the government. The next largest party forms the opposition. 

“It was an enormous defeat for the conservative party, a bloodbath,” McGee said when introducing the panel to a room of about 30 students and faculty. 

Buckland credited a lot of that to inflation and immigration, issues that are very prominent in the U.S. presidential election right now as well. 

In Buckland’s words, the 2016 Brexit vote changed the face of Britain’s politics immensely, leaving the Liberal Democratic party with 72 seats, the highest since 1929.

The talk later moved from British politics to the 2024 election.

“I think if the elections were held today, Vice President (Kamala) Harris would win the popular vote,” Ashford said. “I’m afraid (former president Donald) Trump would still leak out the electoral vote, but I think it’s ultimately gonna come down to Pennsylvania.”

Tong emphasized the importance of coalitions, using it as an explanation for the shift of previously Democratic voters to the Republican party. 

“We took for granted that people in cities, particularly people of color and immigrants, and second generation children of immigrants would stay with Democrats,” Tong said. “And they’re not. When Black men, Latinos turn on Democrats, that’s very concerning because you’re watching your coalition disintegrate.” 

“The Democrats managed to make themselves irrelevant, if not offensive to the struggling blue collar working class, middle class,” Ashford said. 

When asked by an anonymous student Q&A about the future of the western world following the U.S. presidential election, Buckland said he’s “desperately worried.”

“At this time we need stability and certainty from the U.S. government and the White House,” Buckland said. “The last thing we need is this uncertain approach actor that we had from 2016 to (2020). It’s totally the wrong time for the world to have that sort of leadership.” 

All three of the U.S. panelists were Democrats. And as Ashford put it, “Trump’s strongest support is white, male, non-college educated. Trump’s strongest opposition is female, college-educated.” 

“My God, the Democrats have nominated one of those women for president again!” Ashford said. 

The panel concluded on Tong’s note about the 2020 election, citing his worst day as attorney general when he got the call about 18 republican attorney generals across the U.S. seeking to overturn the results and that if Democrats win, it is going to happen again.

“If you think the U.S. is in decline you don’t get out much,” Tong said. “It is still dominant in this world, economically and militarily. If white men think they are losing, who is winning?”