Family Breakdown in Britain

A juvenile crime wave in Britain can be traced to family breakdown, according to former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith. His interim report on the Social Justice Policy Group titled “Breakdown Britain,” released Oct. 3, 2006, makes the case that the breakdown of British families is destroying the fabric of British society.

The group, commissioned by Conservative Party leader David Cameron in December 2005, has an ambitious agenda. It was commissioned to study the causes and consequences of poverty in Britain; examine the challenges facing families and teens; supply fresh ideas to treat and rehabilitate youths affected by drugs and alcohol; examine ways to take care of the elderly; and support neighborhood renewal, among other things (Conservatives.com, Dec. 7, 2005).

Chaired by Mr. Smith, the group claims that “Britain has the highest rate of family breakdown in Europe. This in turn is fueling a crime wave, with 70 percent of young offenders coming from broken homes” (Times Online, Oct. 3, 2006).

Also, the group says, “[D]rugs are taking a fearful toll of young lives and … one in three children under the age of 15 have taken drugs in the past year. Across the whole population, alcohol-related deaths have trebled in the past decade. Unprecedented levels of personal debt are dragging more people into poverty …” (ibid.).

Considering the assault that British family life has endured for decades, these effects are not surprising. And though the Conservative Party is proposing solutions to this horrendous picture of British family life, the British government has proven that, while those concerned may have the best of intentions, social programs and tweaked monetary policy are not enough to reverse the trend toward increasing family breakdown. The government simply cannot enact solutions radical enough to bring about significant results.

This problem must be tackled at the root: Britons must come to understand the incredible spiritual purpose of family, marriage and children.

If understood and applied, this knowledge would revolutionize family life in Britain. For that matter, it could bring a new level of understanding, harmony and love to your own family. After all, solving this problem will take one family at a time—one good example at a time. Take the time to read about the solution the British so desperately need by requesting Herbert W. Armstrong’s book The Missing Dimension in Sex.