As we head closer to what’s supposed to be Brexit day on October 31st, tempers inside and outside of Parliament seem to be getting noticeably shorter as the pressure mounts. The sense of tension has been ratcheted up to the max in the last few days with hyperbolic talk of bitterly disappointed Leavers resorting to rioting on the streets if the UK doesn’t exit the EU as planned on the 31st.

We’re in an unpredictable and volatile period, there’s no denying it. People are fed up with politicians and are fed up with what they see as a society that’s fraying at the seams. Ten years of austerity is shredding the social fabric and killing off the hopes and dreams of a growing number of people. While people may not be taking to the streets in mass, militant protests, a growing number of them feel they’re getting to the end of their tethers.

We’re in troubled times. What we don’t want to see are our communities being riven by divisions stoked by elements with their own agenda who have no concern whatsoever for the neighbourhoods we live in. Which is why we may well be banging on a lot this month about the need to build neighbourhood solidarity and cohesion. To get you started, listed below from our sister publication – The South Essex Heckler – are some pieces we’ve written on various aspects of this over the last year and a bit:

Rebuilding solidarity at the grassroots… (June 25, 2019)

Just getting on with it… (April 26, 2019)

Some pointers on neighbourhood solidarity (January 24, 2019)

Neighbourhood solidarity and resilience (July 12, 2018)

To conclude, now more than ever, we need to pay attention to where we live, fostering an ethos where people look out for each other and strive collectively to keep their neighbourhoods functioning and as free as possible from tensions. If we together, we can pull through what’s coming, we may be in a better position to start thinking about what to do with the dysfunctional political system that dropped us in this shite in the first place!