As Britain reels following its second terror attack in two weeks, and with only days to go before the General Election on June 8, voters here are on edge. But, terrorism aside, they're also mad as hell.

Earlier last month, disabled activists occupied the space outside Conservative Party headquarters in London. Their message was blunt: “Not the fucking Tories.” “Trash the Tories.” For seven years, Disabled People Against the Cuts (DPAC) have led the charge against a government they say is killing people like them by slashing disability provision and welfare.

Now, with the General Election looming Thursday, DPAC tactics have ranged from road blocks to streets stalls, twitter storms to targeting the Prime Minister’s local constituency. They are part of a broader "movement of movements" that reveal this to be no ordinary election, with the vote offering a life or death choice on many issues.

Something akin to the U.S. resistance movement against Donald Trump, a nationwide U.K. opposition has arisen to challenge corrupt Tory leadership through guerrilla electioneering and participatory politics. What differs here is that the movement aims to alter an immediate election and, though flourishing fast, it remains less well defined than its American counterpart. But doubts aside, the Tories' initially strong lead has crumbled, heralding a close fight as the June 8 vote nears.

The Tide Rises Again

The U.K. government’s precarious position today echoes last spring, when the Conservatives U-turned and dropped their budget, largely due to pressure from disability rights activists. Simultaneously, doctors and teachers were striking against cuts. The government was saved, of course, by the Brexit vote, which diffused and diverted attention from these seismic social problems, and divide-and-rule leadership shifted the discourse toward racism and xenophobia.

This season's election campaign has provided a social antidote to the corporate media's relentless attempt to convince the public that Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is unelectable. Instead, an anti-government tide is rising stronger. Election media rules mean that even the billionaire-owned tabloids have to report the political alternatives. Labour, the Scottish National Party and the Greens offer hope against the politics-for-profit paradigm.

Just as there are differences between the U.S. and British resistance movements, there is differentiation across the U.K. The political dynamism we're now seeing in England and Wales is comparable to what the 2014 independence referendum revealed in Scotland.

GE2017 is Like England’s Indyref

Even though Scottish independence lost the battle, it can be said to have won a larger cultural war as new ideas and stronger participatory politics flourished, while racist populism was resisted.

The indyref was a revolution in which hope, alternatives and imagination returned to mainstream political discourse. Likewise, General Election 2017 is creating a similar space. When options return to politics, they only encourage creative engagement. An example is the song “Liar Liar,” by Captain Ska, which takes aim at Prime Minister Theresa May and is currently rising toward number 1 in the charts.

Both Corbyn’s Labour and Scottish independence offer different paths to prosperous futures. They assert another nation possible, beyond Conservative rule.

Participative Parliamentary Politics

The mass canvasing in the current election is unprecedented. Behind this effort are organizations like Momentum, not to mention the growing numbers of people who have joined the Labour Party, which now numbers over 500,000 members.

To draw out the comparisons further, Momentum is comparable to Our Revolution, the U.S. organization launched by Bernie Sanders following his defeat in the presidential primaries last summer. Momentum formed when Corbyn became Labour leader. Both Momentum and the larger Labour Party are focusing on canvassing, something that happen in any election. The difference this time for Labour is the scale of operations, and how they are targeting marginal seats.

In the first-past-the-post system, U.K. elections are won and lost in a few dozen constituencies. Momentum has created trainings for those people canvassing, and an app to get more members out. Quickly after the snap election was called, Corbyn supporters were quick to utilize the "Big Organizing" mass participative tactics used by the Bernie campaign.

This includes tactical voting, peer to peer organizing and other non-centralized campaign methods.

Another national group, The People’s Assembly, targeted 40 marginal constituencies with an inserted billboard attacking the Tories. Subvertisers have swapped corporate advertisements with similar memes, which are also blossoming over social media.

#GrimeForCorbyn

A big focus for "Big Organizing" has been the monumental campaign to get people out to vote. In 2015, less than 30 million from an eligible 46 million in Britain voted. One of the most significant campaigns to change this is #GrimeForCorbyn, where DJs, musicians and rap artists have appealed to young potential voters.

On the final day to register, a record 622,000 people – including 250,000 young people – registered, adding to another 2.3 million who registered before the final cut-off day. While Labour and the other parties have been campaigning hard to get people to register, it is telling that Conservatives have not made any such efforts, as non-voters are mostly anti-Tory.

Occupy the Ballot

Reflecting how the U.S. resistance has recently focused on occupying town halls and standing progressive candidates, GE2017 has also seen a rush of radicals standing for Parliament. These include Nicholas Wilson, a whistleblower against HSBC and government corruption, standing against Home Secretary Amber Rudd. Meanwhile, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, accused of dismantling healthcare, faces doctor Louise Irvine, who won in court against the government when it tried to attack her local NHS hospital.

Standing on a progressive platform, the Green Party has achieved steady growth on each level of U.K. politics, making it another one to watch. Tina Rothery, the anti-fracking grandmother whom the industry tried to send to prison, is standing for local election in Fylde. Scotland’s Green Party will be looking to build on its national success, and will focus on three Westminster seats.

In England and Wales, the Green Party is fielding many more candidates. Key targets are Bristol, the Isle of Wight, Norwich and Sheffield. Their one MP, Caroline Lucas, has made waves since being elected in 2010, including drawing attention to illegal arms sales and getting arrested in the fight against fracking.

Mobilizations

GE2017 is also comparable to the U.S. election and resistance in the form of mass rallies that have turned out for Corbyn – and the protests that have showed up wherever Theresa May goes.

Thousands have turned out to see Corbyn speak across the length and breadth of the country. At the same time, May has been criticized for avoiding the public. When the whereabouts of May’s events have been discovered, pop-up protests often form. For instance, protests hijacked her party's manifesto launch in Halifax.

Just as Donald Trump has faced mass protests against his proposed Muslim Ban, and for the Women’s March, mass mobilizations have escalated recently against Conservative policies. Three intensifying direct action-led campaigns are the anti-fracking fight, the movement against deportations and immigration detention centers, and the fight against cuts to women’s services.

If the Conservatives win the election, these ongoing movements and the surge of participation into mainstream politics are the foundations for a British Resistance. But also, as the polls get closer toward Thursday, the energy of participatory politics means this election could blaze a new trail – showing how people can reclaim an electoral process run by billionaires, for billionaires.

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