After Prime Minister David Cameron’s departure, Brexit Britain will hold a leadership race and possible national election later in 2016, with the race for Downing Street set to be as divisive as the Brexit campaign and perhaps even the U.S. presidential race. There was always speculation that a vote to leave Europe would push Britain – or whatever emerges from the ashes of Britain – toward the U.S. But the shifting political landscape and the multiple similarities between Westminster and Washington politics are already remarkable.

Boris and Donald

Take, for starters, Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. Johnson, the former London mayor, was the unofficial leader of a Brexit campaign that encouraged racist politics of divide and hate. Popular in the Conservative Party and the rightwing press, Johnson’s ambition to lead Britain is notorious, and in many ways he resembles U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Both men were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Both frequently make racist statements. Trump plays on the idea that billionaires should no longer buy politicians, a point contradicted by his act of simply becoming one. Johnson, on the other hand, told the British public to "take back control" while advocating Brexit – an equally nonsensical position coming from a man with ambitions to become the 20th prime minister to emerge from the same exclusive private school, Eton.

Both men often speak without an autocue, or teleprompter, and seem largely without strategy. In Johnson’s case, he was gung-ho when it came to securing the Brexit vote, but clueless what to do afterwards. Both men also incite violence. Trump rallies show how quickly his rhetoric can become physical. In Britain, racist hate crime has been rising since the Brexit vote. There is also evidence of Johnson asking a friend to beat up an opponent.

Despite these men’s vile racism and prejudice politics – or precisely because of it – their popularity indicates deep problems within UK and U.S. society. Johnson has decided not to run for the recently called Conservative leadership race to become the next prime minister, but like Trump, he got close close to leading the country. It is essential to ask how such openly racist and populist members of the establishment command such support.

One reason is that both men attract outsized media attention. In both cases the media, for obvious financial reasons, have been sympathetic to their message: It helps sell papers and airtime. Crucially, Johnson and Trump are both riding a wave funded by billionaires to shift politics to the far right. In the U.S., the Tea Party has framed the debate to a great extent for Trump. In the UK, the political party UKIP paved the way.

But there is another element that connects the popularity of these men and their beliefs. Despite their extremely affluent background and pro-business politics, they have successfully presented themselves as a target for "protest votes." It cannot be ignored that communities undercut by globalization and crippled by the financial crisis have transferred their anger on to foreigners and other minorities through the rhetoric of Trump and Johnson. Both mavericks, they differ in style from the establishment, which is perhaps one secret to how they created the false impression that they are anti-establishment.

Johnson was long tipped to become next PM. But he recently declared he is not running, probably because he has no idea what to do with the crisis that is Brexit. The leadership this time is a poisoned chalice. Whoever wins the Conservative leadership race will have to officially exit the EU – or not. Also, whoever is elected PM will have to deal with many open wounds, following a Brexit campaign where both sides hurled accusations of lying and campaigning fraudulently.

Jeremy and Bernie

The post-Brexit chaos would be a good time for the Labour Party to steer the nation in a socially progressive direction. Alas, the party is in equal disarray, again reflecting its U.S. counterpart, the Democrats. Neoliberal Labour MPs, the Blairites, are on a major offensive against the left leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Evidence suggest this effort was planned over six months ago by the PR firm Portland Communications, linked to Blairite politicians. The coup has provided a convenient distraction from the interwoven Conservative-Brexit crises – a distraction for a media that has been baying for Corbyn’s blood since the socialist won last September’s leadership contest by a landslide.

The coup for Labour leadership also seems to be a last gasp and pre-emptive strike ahead of the release of the Chilcot Report, set to be published July 13, which is expected to formally rule that the Blair-driven Iraq War was illegal. The anti-Corbyn attack is being interpreted by many as a desperate attempt by Blairites to regain control of the party and distract from the report or downplay its findings.

Corbyn opposed the Iraq War from day 1. He also opposed the New Labour policies that continued neoliberal projects of privatization, free market globalization and "light touch regulation" of the City of London. Crucially, these policies caused the further disenfranchisement of communities suffering from rampant inequality after a failed, decades-long experiment with neoliberalism. It is in some of these communities where Brexit has been able to rally support. Returning the lens on America, a similar demographic has turned out for Trump.

In response to the Labour coup, there has been a massive surge in grassroots support, including a massive protest outside Parliament and a sprawling petition that has garnered signatures in the six digits. The fight between the Blarites and Corbyn draws further parallels with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Saunders: One controls the party machinery and was married to the Democrat that embraced neoliberal globalization. The other has broader progressive support and is an older respected politician who speaks particularly to younger people who see little future in the current corrupt system.

Looking ahead to a British autumn election, if the Labour coup succeeds we may see a similar situation to Bernie Or Bust, as many people drawn into the Labour party by Corbyn may now choose to exit. Or, it the Blairites fail, we could see something resembling a "new New Labour" party emerge. In both the U.S. and UK, there is space for a potential breakaway party from both Conservatives/Republicans and Labour/Democrats to emerge. And what seems most certain is that the predictable days of neoliberalism, when it did not truly matter who governed, could be coming to an end.

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