What the U.K. Populist Surge Says About Politics Everywhere

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

I'm Laura Thurow, Managing Director with Baird Private Wealth Management. For so many of us, life is busy. Between balancing family, career, and community, finding the time and focus to keep your financial plans on track can be a challenge. At Baird, we understand. Our financial advisors will partner with you to create a plan that's uniquely yours, one that gives you peace of mind and confidence so you can focus on what matters most.

Luke Vargas (0:25)

Discover the Baird difference at rwbaird.com/wsj. Another legal setback for President Trump's tariffs, plus a populist surge in Britain as Nigel Farage's Reform UK storms to a major win in local elections.

Max Colchester (0:44)

What we're seeing here is a clear anti-incumbency shift, whether you're in the US or Europe. If you're in power, you're unpopular. People feel that they are not as well off as they once were, and that is a problem that takes a lot of time and is very difficult to fix.

Luke Vargas (0:58)

And why some writers are ditching the perfectionism and polish honed over their careers. It's Friday, May 8th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today.

A federal trade court has invalidated President Trump's 10% global tariffs, which he had imposed after his broader tariff strategy was struck down by the Supreme Court in February. In a 2-to-1 ruling, the Court of International Trade said that Trump failed to meet the criteria for imposing the 10% levies under powers meant to address persistent trade imbalances. Journal Legal Affairs reporter Lydia Wheeler said the ruling's immediate impact could be limited as Trump had already been planning to replace the time-limited tariffs in July.

SPEAKER_4 (1:46)

Thursday's ruling on the Section 122 tariffs is significant, but it's important to note here that importers aren't going to get immediate relief from this decision. The court decided not to issue a universal injunction to block the levies from being imposed on everyone who's paid them.

The court said only the two importers that challenged the levies and also the state of Washington must be repaid with interest. But other importers can now go to court and point to this decision and say, hey, I'm also owed a refund here because the court said that these tariffs are invalid.

Luke Vargas (2:20)

That could add complexity to an already sprawling government effort to refund the more than 160 billion dollars in collected tariffs that were invalidated by the Supreme Court. A White House spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The administration is expected to appeal the decision.

Tensions are flaring again in the Middle East this morning after the US and Iran exchanged fire in the Persian Gulf yesterday. The US military says that Iran launched a series of attacks Thursday on American warships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, leading it to strike a number of military sites in response. Well, President Trump has downplayed the Iranian attacks as a trifle and said that a ceasefire remains in effect. Fresh attacks on the United Arab Emirates today could test that assessment.

British voters have voiced their displeasure with Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer handing Nigel Farage's Reform UK party a major win in local elections. As we heard in conversations with voters in London, Starmer, who had set out to prove that pragmatism could hold off a populist tide, faced pressure from both the right and left.

SPEAKER_5 (3:29)

Reform, because I'm fed up with the way the country's run. I just want Starmer out and I want the people to think of us, like British citizens.

SPEAKER_6 (3:38)

I do just feel that they're not left-wing enough. I think unfortunately under Keir Starmer, they've become really quite a right-wing party. And there's a lot of stuff which they say and do, which I disagree with.

SPEAKER_7 (3:48)

Yeah, I've always been a Labour voter, this time reformed, because his promises, Danny O'Panney, he hasn't kept to none of his manifestos. So no, I've lost all confidence in Labour Party. And that's it, basically.

SPEAKER_8 (4:03)

So I voted Green today, first time, actually. I'm not saying Greens are perfect, but I think they just have a bit more of a pulse of, yeah, what really matters to people.

Luke Vargas (4:14)

Max Colchester is the Journal's UK correspondent. Max, for the benefit of our international audience, these weren't national elections. And Stammer, who secured a massive election victory for the centre-left Labour Party back in 2024, ending, we should say, 14 years of conservative control, still has a very big majority in parliament. And yet the vibe today is that his mandate is now massively eroded. Explain that.