It is absolutely right to give tough prison sentences to the rioters behind the mayhem of the past ten days

Prison works

GUESS what? Tough sentences for violent criminals really do work.

It is absolutely right that those behind the mayhem of the past ten days are getting punishing jail terms.

Rioters made a choice and are responsible for their own actions.

Dishing out harsh sentences worked after the riots in 2011 — and the threat of further violence likewise appears to be receding now.

Ministers are looking at going even further. One option is to ban football fans involved in the riots from attending matches.

If the idea deters further violence, it’s well worth considering.

PM Sir Keir Starmer yesterday said “it’s important that we don’t let up” in delivering swift justice. He’s right.

After a week of fear and uncertainty, the public needs to know the rule of law is being restored.

And that perpetrators of hate crimes — on all sides — will face the consequences of their senseless savagery.

Can we fix it?

FOR decades successive governments have promised to get more British workers into construction jobs.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is the latest to make the pledge and we sincerely hope she delivers on her ambition.

Last year ministers said shortages of skilled workers were so bad that — once again — we had to import brickies, chippies and plasterers from overseas.

It was a terrible betrayal of one of the chief promises behind Brexit.

We now need as many as possible of the 1.5million houses Labour has pledged over the next five years to be built by Brit workforces.

That means turbo-charging skills through training and letting kids learn trades — instead of pursuing often unrewarding university courses.

Jab tragedy

IT’S a national tragedy that thousands of kids are falling sick with whooping cough — and ten have died — amid falling uptake of a free jab.

Pregnant women and infants can get the injection on the NHS.

But conspiracy theories around all vaccines — peddled unchecked on social media — have gone into overdrive since the pandemic.

And greater numbers of parents are sadly falling for the lies and misinformation, leading to a dramatic fall in jab rates.

Coupled with a loss of immunity in the general population since Covid-19, the UK is now enduring the biggest outbreak of whooping cough in 30 years.

Parents need to know that the vaccine does work, is safe — and offers the best chance of protecting their precious kids.