The conclusion is that the United Kingdom is not a liberal democracy.
The term I see thrown around is “electoral authoritarianism,” where elections may be free and fair but institutions don’t reflect liberal values.
Maybe we’re discovering that democracy and liberal values don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand.
That system was never going to survive alongside immigration (driven by capital demanding cheaper foreign labor in the 1800s), the growth of middle-class and educated women, and the spread into the frontier.
It's not an accident that contemporary US Republicans have started repeating this talking point. The last Republican challenger to win the presidency (not re-election) by popular vote was George HW Bush 35 years ago. Expect to see less 'will of the people' talk from them in the years ahead.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/10/republican...