Rishi Sunak would introduce compulsory National Service for all 18-year-olds if the Conservatives win the General Election.
Under the bombshell plan, unveiled by the Prime Minister in an article for The Mail on Sunday, school-leavers would be obliged to spend a year in a full-time Armed Forces role or volunteering with organisations such as the police or NHS.
The shock move, which is modelled on systems already in place across Europe, is likely to split opinion – but will also galvanise the first full week of the election campaign.
Mr Sunak said the ‘reinvented’ scheme would ‘provide life-changing opportunities for our young people’, and declared: ‘As a father, I look forward to my own two daughters doing their National Service: I think they will find it a rewarding experience.’
He added: ‘Being British is about more than just the queue you join at passport control.’
The idea of forcing school-leavers into the scheme is likely to prove the most contentious element – although No 10 points out that only 10 per cent of 18-year-olds are expected to take up the option of a full military commission for the 12-month period, with the rest working for just one weekend a month.
If the Conservatives are re-elected, a Royal Commission would be established to finalise the details and the scheme would come into effect in September next year.
The dramatic move came as:
- Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was accused of trying to ‘rig’ the system to maintain his party in power by saying he wanted to extend voting rights to 16-year-olds – who are overwhelmingly anti-Conservative. Giving the right to vote to more than 1.5 million under-18s would be the largest change to the electoral system since the voting age was cut from 21 to 18 in 1969;
- A Mail on Sunday poll found that replacing Mr Sunak with Boris Johnson as leader would cut Labour’s majority – but Sir Keir would still win a landslide. Labour holds a 22-point lead in the survey;
- Allies of Mr Johnson said he would be abroad for much of the campaign – as his supporters claimed that pro-Boris candidates were being ‘purged’ during rushed selections for nearly 200 seats;
- Tory in-fighting continued over the election, with Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt accused of effectively ‘boycotting’ the Cabinet meeting to rubber-stamp the decision;
- Reform UK’s Nigel Farage described the election as ‘the dullest in history’ as he pledged to ‘inject some passion into the debate and expose some of the nonsense from Sunak and Starmer’ when he hits the campaign trail this week;
- Sources said Reform’s only MP, former Tory Lee Anderson, had told Mr Farage to ‘man up’ when he announced that he would not be standing in the election;
- Labour aides are understood to have expressed concern that if Sir Keir supports England in next month’s Euro 2024 tournament by wearing a Three Lions shirt he could alienate voters in Scotland.
The plan to reintroduce National Service was drawn up in secret, with only Mr Sunak’s close advisers – understood to include former Tory leader William Hague – privy to the details.
In their confidential 40-page plan, the advisers argued that the growing international threats posed by countries such as Russia and China needed to be addressed by beefing up our Armed Forces – as did the listlessness of many young adults. Nearly 750,000 18 to 24-year-olds are currently out of work, and this age group is disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system.
The civic roles would include supporting flood defences and communities during natural disasters, NHS support roles, fire safety work, or signing up for the RNLI or mountain search and rescue.
Sweden, Norway, France and Denmark are among the countries to have reintroduced a modern version of national service recently.
In his article, Mr Sunak writes: ‘Our pride in our United Kingdom should not blind us to the challenges it faces. One of those is that generations of young people have not had the opportunities, or experiences, they deserve – and too much potential is wasted in purposeless lives of crime or unemployment.’
He adds: ‘We must do more for our young people and our young people must do more for our country. After all, our country is only as strong as what we all contribute to it. This new National Service will give the coming generation an opportunity to learn valuable life skills while contributing to our country.
‘For some, it will open their eyes to potential careers. For others, it will forge a culture of service that will make our society stronger and more cohesive.’
National Service was first introduced after the Second World War for all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 21.
More than two million were conscripted to the Armed Forces between 1949 and 1963.
As Prime Minister announces radical new National Service plan… RISHI SUNAK says he would be very happy to see his own two daughters do their National Service
This is a great country, and I am so proud to be your Prime Minister. In the last 18 months, we have made progress after the shocks caused by Covid and Ukraine: bringing inflation down and getting our economy growing again. With the economy stabilising, it is now time for you to decide what future you want for Britain.
Do you want to build on what we have done together and create a secure future with the Conservatives, or risk going back to square one with Labour?
Our pride in our United Kingdom should not blind us to the challenges it faces. One of those is that generations of young people have not had the opportunities, or experiences, they deserve – and too much potential is wasted in purposeless lives of crime or unemployment. I want to change that and have a clear plan to do so.
We will reinvent National Service for today’s Britain. It will provide life-changing opportunities for our young people, offering them the chance to learn real-world skills, do new things and contribute to their community and our country. It shouldn’t only be those who are fortunate enough to go on gap years that get the opportunity to have these kind of experiences.
All 18-year-olds will do this new National Service, whatever their background and wherever they live in the UK. It will not, though, be a one-size-fits-all programme. Young people will be able to choose between 25 days of volunteering – equivalent to one weekend every month – serving as a lifeguard for the RNLI, becoming a first aider or many other options.
Those who choose to do military service, and pass the test, will be able to take a 12-month, full-time placement in our Armed Forces.
They will have the option to work in many areas, from defending our country against cyber attacks to developing their leadership skills. This training will help young people to be the best they can be, and if they enjoy the experience they can choose a career in the military or join the reserves, bolstering our national security.
To put it simply, we must do more for our young people and our young people must do more for our country. After all, our country is only as strong as what we all contribute to it.
This new National Service will give the coming generation an opportunity to learn valuable life skills while contributing to our country. For some, it will open their eyes to potential careers. For others, it will forge a culture of service that will make our society stronger and more cohesive. It will build trust across our nation: helping us all to get to know each other better, unifying our society at a time when there are those at home and abroad trying to divide us.
I know not everyone will agree with this plan. But bold action is the right thing for today’s Britain. As a father, I look forward to my own two daughters doing their National Service: I think they will find it a rewarding experience. It will teach them, as it will other youngsters, much about themselves and the society they serve.
To those who complain that making it mandatory is unreasonable, I say: citizenship brings with it obligations as well as rights. Being British is about more than just the queue you join at passport control.
To be clear, our new National Service is not conscription. The vast majority of those who do it will not serve in our Armed Forces. Only those who choose to, and come through the tough entrance tests, will do that.
But what everyone will do is contribute to our country. From first aid to helping the housebound and lonely, to search and rescue, every 18-year-old will learn new skills while simultaneously contributing to our society.
We know how we will make this new National Service a reality. The first royal commission of this century will finalise the details of how the scheme will work. It will then open for applications in September 2025.
This rite of passage will create a shared sense of purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country.
We have a clear plan to implement this action, which will help improve the opportunities available to the next generation and build the secure future we all want to see for our children and for Britain.