The Conservatives plan to reintroduce twelve months of mandatory national service if they win the general election. This program would offer 18-year-olds the choice of 30,000 full-time military placements or volunteering one weekend a month for community service.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak believes that reintroducing compulsory service across the UK would revive the "national spirit" seen during the pandemic. However, Labour has criticized the proposal, estimated to cost £2.5 billion, as "desperate" and "unfunded."
The Conservatives aim to launch a pilot program by September 2025, with a Royal Commission set to detail the plan. Military placements would cover areas such as cyber security, logistics, procurement, and civil response operations. Non-military volunteering would require 25 days of service with organizations like the fire service, police, and NHS.
Mr. Sunak stated, “This is a great country but generations of young people have not had the opportunities or experience they deserve and there are forces trying to divide our society in this increasingly uncertain world. I will bring in a new model of national service to create a shared sense of purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country.” He emphasized that the initiative would help young people gain "real world skills" and contribute to their community and country.
The Conservatives believe the program will provide valuable work experience and guide young people away from unemployment and crime. Although they did not specify potential sanctions for non-participants, they highlighted the program's potential to inspire careers in healthcare, public service, charity, or the armed forces.
The funding for national service, projected at £2.5 billion, would involve redirecting £1.5 billion from the levelling up's UK Shared Prosperity Fund starting in 2028 and raising an additional £1 billion by cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion.
Labour compared this plan to former Prime Minister David Cameron’s "Big Society" initiative from 2010, criticizing it as an unfunded commitment by a party responsible for economic instability and increased mortgage rates. They accused the Conservatives of proposing a costly review necessitated by their own reduction of armed forces to historically low levels.
Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson Richard Foord MP condemned the Conservatives for reducing troop numbers, stating, “If the Conservatives were serious about defence, they would reverse their damaging cuts to our world-class professional armed forces, instead of decimating them.”
Military conscription has never applied in Northern Ireland, and no details have been provided for its implementation there. National service was originally introduced in 1947 by Clement Attlee’s Labour government and ended in 1960. Earlier this year, Chief of the General Staff Sir Patrick Sanders suggested the UK might need a "citizen army" to counteract threats like Putin, but Mr. Sunak's team dismissed his concerns as "not helpful."
Several European countries, including Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, have conscription programs that require young people to serve for a limited period, ensuring they have some military training and can be called upon in times of war. The British Army has seen its size decrease from over 100,000 in 2010 to about 73,000 as of January 2024.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment