Chancellor Rishi Sunak has vowed to reintroduce national service for 18-year-olds as his first shot at a UK general election due for 4 July.
In his first major policy pledge of the general election campaign, Chancellor Sunak said on Sunday he would reinstate National Service to create “new pride” in the country.
The £2.5 billion scheme would require 18-year-olds to serve the nation for at least a year through a 12-month placement in the armed forces or cyber defence sector, or to undertake one weekend volunteering each month for a year with organisations such as the National Health Service, fire service, police or charities focused on supporting isolated older people.
“This country is great, but generations of young people are not having the opportunities and experiences they should have, and in this uncertain world there are forces that seek to divide our society,” Mr Sunak said. Said Per Sun.
“I have a clear plan to address this issue and secure our future. I will introduce a new form of national service, creating a sense of common purpose and renewed pride in country among our young people.”
National Service was first introduced in the UK in 1949, requiring able-bodied males aged 17 to 21 to serve in the armed forces for at least 18 months and to be enlisted as reservists for four years.
National Service was intended primarily as a peacetime conscription system, but before it was officially ended in 1960, men who enlisted saw service in military operations in Cyprus, Kenya, Korea and Malaya.
British commander warns ‘pre-war generation’ should prepare to be called up into ‘citizen militia’ if Western nations go to war with Russiahttps://t.co/QLyQfAmEk7
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 24, 2024
Calls for the reintroduction of National Service come as military chiefs have warned of the poor state of Britain’s troops and the need for more troops if the UK goes to war with a major military power like Russia.
For example, earlier this year, Gen. Patrick Sanders, the head of the Army, suggested the country might need to form a “national army” to defend itself.
Military personnel numbers have fallen steadily under the Conservative government, with just 76,950 soldiers enlisting in the Army last year, down from 109,600 in 2000. Over the same period, Royal Navy personnel numbers fell from 42,800 to 32,590, and the Royal Air Force from 54,600 to 31,940.
The Conservative government said the national service plan announced by Mr Sunak would cost around £2.5 billion a year by 2029/30. They said the plan would be paid for by recycling money from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and by cracking down on tax avoiders, Sky News reported. Reports.
Responding to the announcement, Brexit leader and Honorary Leader of the Reform Britain Party, Nigel Farage, said: Said“Rishi Sunak is a follower, not a leader. He was told by a focus group of reform-leaning voters to deliver this National Service policy, which we all know he will never deliver.”
The Labour party also criticised the plans, with a spokesman saying: “This is not a plan – it is a multi-billion dollar overhaul, made necessary because the Conservatives have hollowed out our army to its smallest size since Napoleon.”
NATO allies urge UK to reinstate military service to deter Russiahttps://t.co/eSv8F14Mnz
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 17, 2024
