Kamala Harris is just the latest victim of global trend to oust incumbents

Voters across the world have backed any alternative to the people in charge

What do the British Conservatives, the New Zealand Labour party, the LDP of Japan and the ANC of South Africa have in common? Defeat. All four led governments that have been pummelled at the polls recently as part of the greatest wave of anti-incumbent voting ever seen. Governments of left and right, radicals and moderates, liberals and nationalists: all are falling.

This week the US Democratic party joined the electoral casualty list, bested by the man they ousted four years ago, the past and now future president, Donald Trump. Critics and cheerleaders alike see Trump as an extraordinary figure with a unique appeal. But his triumph is the rule, not the exception. Defeated vice-president Kamala Harris ran ahead of the global trend, even more so in the crucial swing states. But she was swept away nonetheless.