mcquade: Most of these roiters are the product of a failing state education system. If these young people are to have a stake in our shared society then we need to create jobs, it's really that simple. Many of society's ills such as drugs, gangs, along with riotous behaviour would simply melt away, but it's 'how' we create sustainable jobs. Jobs need to be self-sustaining, not government subsidised, and there lies the political fault-line.

Pat: Yes we can blame the previous 'economically' discredited Labour government, for many of our ills.
Labour's open door immigration policy for one, which kept millions on state benefits, and out of the world of work.
Labour's eduction policy that put the interests of the teaching unions above those of their poorest pupils in society.
Labour's welfare programme, that don't help the poorest in society, but trapped millions in poverty. Labour remains unrepentant, that's why many remain unconvinced of Labour's sincerity.

swatantra - is there no connection in your mind ... a recession, appalling attacks on the poor, and a cabinet of millionaires lecturing the public??

I'm glad that people are starting to realise that Cameron's policies have little, if anything at all, to do with improving the situation. People are angry and Cameron wants to bring them criminals' heads on spikes without any regard to wider consequences. In a society with a shameful rich-poor divide and massive social problems where the rioters have been largely from disaffected sections of society who are poorly represented and whose prospects are terrible, Cameron wants to take these people's benefits and homes away. What a shameful, shameful approach. As is his intention to censor social media online, which has been such a draconian proposal it has drawn praise from the Chinese government. What happened to "hug a hoodie?", Mr Cameron? Britain is in very bad hands.

What the many platitudes that you media junkies who criticise from clearly ignorant or misinformed perspectives fail to consider is that Cameron & Co. might not be perfect, but they are trying to respond to what the silent majority in the UK have called for. As did Obama, our PM and his administration inherited a poisoned chalice - 15years of Labour (also of the moniker 'the criminal classes') brought Britain to her knees. Just as in George Orwell's Animal Farm, Labour promised equal society but in reality created a greater economic and class divide than ever before, they just made sure their mates got in on the game. Historic levels of corruption and abuse of power almost destroyed our nation - the reference to double standards in this article fails to recognise that this began under labour, that we are now seeing be so publicly expunged!
The current "draconian" actions to bring back law, order, respect and a sense of individual responsibility are but a few among a host of long overdue efforts to put Britain back on track, but its going to be painful and with the current media tone of influence, is likely to take a very long time. And no, we do not want our government to follow the short-sighted view of our cousins who believe credit, debt and spending are the way forward. That way of thinking is about to bring the most almighty recession to the US and EU, surely some of you must be waking up and now aware how that model has failed? And of how the welfare state, 'free' education and healthcare, have created a less motivated, more ignorant and less skilled society than in previous generations, as well as sicker and more obese with greater burdens of individual debt to worry about than ever before??
We have a long way to go, and with so many freeloaders and abusive administrators draining the system it will take even longer than predicted. The sooner they go or start paying their dues, the better...

"long-term damage to Britain’s already fraying social compact". Whatever do you mean, there's nothing wrong with our harmonious and all inclusive multicultural society.

Britain.

Third world economic system, political system and judicial system.

Guilt by association.
Lock them all up. Pity that the prison already overflowing.

Social cohesion?? What on earth is that.

Consumer society economics.

It only works if the masses are given enough money to spend on the necessities of life.

Who spends all of their money on these necessities. The masses in particular those at the bottom of the ladder.

The well to do don't spend all their money on the necessities of life. The spend their surpluses on things that increase their holdings of money and property.

So what do you need for a well running economy?? People who spend all of their money.

Social welfare is a means to put money in the hand of those who will spend it immediately. They can't afford to save any.

If you cut of that flow of money the section of the economy that produces the basic necessities of life stagnates. Loss of income, profits, unemployment for many follows.

But I studied economics and thus can put two and two together.
Many so called experts can't make the connection.

I am surprised that she didn't mention in her article the 'sickness' that developed in the finance markets that led to a bankers-led crash where all of the main protagonists who caused most damage walked off with millions of pounds with barely a slap on the wrist. Whatever ugly scenes you see in riots they will never equal the damage done to people's livlihoods and society that greedy and reckless bankers have caused. Cameron uses these riots to conveniently forget that. Easier to evict and lock up a rioter for stealing junk from Aldi, than get a rich man out of his mansion and into prison for stealing billions and hurting millions.

How popular are these draconian policies? Difficult to guage really. I only hear the usual load mouthed right-wing brigade banging on.

"they have been involved harmless in bun fights."

Such as trashing restaurants. Swantantra, you need to check your facts by reading more widely. Boris even boasted about this in his book.

I'm still pondering AM's wonderfully contradictory cliche collection which asserts that a silent majority have called for a response...

Ah yes, the "Silent Majority", used by right-wingers to justify loopy policies since Nixon (he ended well, didn't he?). If they're so pissed off, why are they "Silent"?

BTW AM, Labour was in for 13 years not 15. Your badly written rant won't change the fact that they won power from a discredited Tory government in 1997 (you know, actually getting an absolute majority of seats in an election - more than the Tories did in 2010)