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Rishi Sunak has vowed to introduce compulsory national service for 18-year-olds if he is re-elected, in his first major policy announcement since the start of the election campaign earlier this week.
The move is part of what he said was an effort to provide security and opportunity in “an increasingly uncertain world.”
Sunak plans to force 18-year-olds to join the armed forces or do community work for 12 months, in a bid to bolster his claim that he is best placed to boost security in Britain.
“Generations of young people have not had the opportunities or experience they deserve and there are forces seeking to divide our society in this increasingly uncertain world,” Sunak said.
National conscription was abolished in Britain in 1960, but there has been pressure from leading figures in the British military to prepare young people for the possibility of war.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, head of the British Army, spoke in January of the need for Britain’s “pre-war generation” to prepare for the possibility of future conflict, adding that there was an “undertaking to whole country” was necessary.
Downing Street said at the time there was no talk of a reintroduction of the national service, but Sunak’s manifesto pledge on the issue is early evidence of Tory strategists’ promise that the Prime Minister will come up with ‘bold’ ideas to try to regain the political initiative. of Labour.
The Conservative leader said his party’s plans would provide life-changing opportunities for young people and give them the chance to learn real life skills, either in the military or in civil society.
Under the measures, individuals would be invited to apply for a 12-month placement in the armed forces or volunteer in their community one weekend a month for a year in a range of settings including social care and emergency services.
The full-time, 12-month placement would be with the Armed Forces or UK Cyber Defense, where young adults would take part in logistics, cyber security, procurement or civilian response operations.
The Prime Minister said the scheme would cost £2.5 billion a year by 2029/2030, adding to existing pressures on public finances. Sunak has also pledged to boost defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2030.
The Conservatives said £1 billion of the national services fund would come from a planned crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion, while a further £1.5 billion would come from funding previously allocated to the “British Shared Prosperity Fund” – a regional aid program after Brexit. .
Sunak said the new national services plan would be designed by a Royal Commission and come into force by the end of the next parliament.
The Labor Party said: “This is not a plan – it is an overhaul that could cost billions and is only necessary because the Tories have depleted the armed forces to their smallest size since Napoleon.”
Sunak needs new initiatives to revive his sputtering start to the election campaign, following his surprise decision to call a poll on July 4. On Saturday he convened advisers at his parliamentary seat in Richmond, Yorkshire, to discuss next steps, but aides denied their campaign had failed. are “reset”.
They said these kinds of meetings were part of the course. Sunak was out campaigning earlier in the day and then traveled to London to meet local party activists in Wimbledon.
Speaking to a group of veterans in Yorkshire, Sunak said the world was “more dangerous and challenging than it has been in decades”.
“There is China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. These things not only happen far away, they also affect us here at home,” he said.
According to pollster YouGov, only 10 percent of 18-24 year olds have a year-long military service. This compared to 46 percent of people aged 65 and over, who would not be affected by the measures, but belong to the conservative core.
Voluntary community service of around a month is supported by around 72 percent of British adults. YouGov polls have shown that just 8 percent of voters aged 18 to 24 support the Conservatives.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer promised on Saturday he would give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote if Labor won the general election. In 1969, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18.
“If you can work, if you can pay taxes, if you can serve in your armed forces, then you should be able to vote,” the Labor leader said during a campaign visit to the West Midlands. There are more than 1.5 million 16 and 17 year olds in Britain.
Rachel Reeves, shadow chancellor, will on Sunday deliver her party’s core message that “stability is change” – claiming Labor will offer ordinary voters and businesses a reprieve after years of economic and political turmoil.
The Liberal Democrats plan to unveil their election battle bus on Sunday in a marginal Tory seat in East Anglia, where party leader Ed Davey will promise to repair “crumbling hospitals” made unsafe by effervescent concrete.