Debates about Brexit were dominating the UK Parliament, crowding out other matters that are equally important (or perhaps even more so). For example dealing with the issues of knife crime and violence among young people.
There have been dissensions over the question of police numbers- whether the reduction in these has led to an increase in incidents, which the Government denies. And also over the responsibilities of schools, with evidence that excluded pupils are many times more likely to end up in gangs- but what are the pressure on schools that lead to exclusions? A good deal of blame is put onto parents and families, but many are left isolated, dealing with challenging behaviour with little support. Our society seems to have forgotten the truth of the old African proverb that it takes a whole village to bring up a child. Youth service provision has been severely cut during the years of “austerity” after the 2008 banking crisis that led to such a large increase in public spending and debt. But building community costs money. The Oasis report “Enough is Enough”: https://radical.hypotheses.org/files/2016/04/Enough-is-Enough-Report.pdf suggested that the roots of radicalisation among many young people- black, Asian and white- is that they have become alienated from society, convinced that our modern capitalist society has no place for them and their skills.
But we were reminded that being “radical” is something commended in the New Testament- as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Radicalisation is not something to be feared. The question is what kind of radicalisation is being discovered by those young people who are rightly dissatisfied with society as it exists today.
One reason for austerity is the fact that big international companies are able too easily to avoid their proper contribution to public funds through tax avoidance. Church Action for Tax Justice was set up in 2018 with the aim of involving churches in the campaign to challenge this injustice, and were planning to hold a meeting at St Mary le Bow, Cheapside, London, hosted by Justshare. Church Action for Tax Justice recently published their report “Tax for the Common Good”: http://www.catj.org.uk/uploads/1/1/8/6/118613197/t4cg_guide_003_0030-ftm.pdf
In one of our readings the prophet Jeremiah challenged the people of Judah for their worship of false gods (Jeremiah chapter 2). We perhaps need to ask ourselves which are the “gods” that our society worships (remembering that a “god” is whatever we count as the most important thing in our life). What are the “gods” that Brexit seeks to serve- could “national sovereignty” be yet another false god??