Ronald Reagan was a Hollywood star. The Clinton’s are blue blooded. George W. Bush somehow graduated from Yale and Donald Trump has enough personal wealth to liberate the entire African continent from poverty overnight.

If there is one common thread to the presidential club, and those trying to join it in 2016, wealth is top of that list – social responsibility, at least as I understand it, not so much.

But there is a politician who caught my ear this weekend, and it seems has done so with many more in his homeland – England. Jeremy Corbyn was voted in by the members of the British Labour Party to lead the current opposition party and run for Prime Minister in the next general election.

Corbyn took an unprecedented 60 percent of the vote, and while members of the party who have shifted toward a more centrist line in the last few decades gritted their teeth, he won majorities amongst new members, old members and unionists.

Over the years, Corbyn served as a Member of Parliament (MP) but has never taken any form of leadership position.

Instead, he has rattled the sabers from the backbenches, challenging even his own party on social issues and economic responsibility. This by itself is not an unusual position even in the left-fearing U.S. congress – Bernie Sanders is gathering a groundswell of support in recent months.

But even if this is true, shouldn’t it matter where a leader’s heart lies?

Corbyn is a different animal; he doesn’t just talk the talk, but walks the walk.

He consistently has the lowest spending of any MP on record. He rides a bike to work instead of leasing fancy cars and he keeps all frivolous spending to a minimum.

Corbyn continues to rail against the rampant privatization that has been a trademark of right wing economics in Europe over the past 30 years, but has brought no tangible improvements to services and no relief to consumer’s pockets.

In Britain, there has never been a reason to fear the government. Recent conservatism, however, has given ample ammunition to fear the corporations that have been brought in.

Corbyn is in no one’s pocket, and never has been. Even whilst a serving politician, it came as no surprise that his first speech came, not at a celebration party, but at a rally to support Middle Eastern refugees.

The rhetoric from the British right – the rhetoric of fear – in response to Corbyn’s ascension was as predictable as it could be: this man will cripple our economy, we can’t afford to feed the poor and our defenses will crumble.

On this side of the Atlantic, the fundamental underpinning of the Trump support – at least beyond the burbling stench of racism and misogyny – is a belief that he is so wealthy he can be rid of the corporate cronyism that has blighted the American political landscape for so long.

The structure of large-scale democracy in the U.S. places large amounts of executive power in the hands of few, particular after election season is over.

In Britain, at least for the moment, it would appear that public sentiment is moving towards a desire to strive for a better country, and not be afraid of what policies will fail.

After all, how could it be worse than the American right-wing liberal capitalist movement that tanked the world economy in the last decade?

In a year’s time, America will make its leadership decisions for the future. Fear and hope will sway the opinions of many, and so too will the financial muscle of those running.

But for now, at least Britain has a man in a position to take power whose heart and actions are in the right place. Now, America needs to find its version.

Jorden Wilson is a senior psychology major from Seattle. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of the Office of Student Media.