Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party said it would require mandatory national service for every 18-year-old Briton by the end of the next parliament, a striking political gamble as the UK prime minister set out his six-week campaign messaging ahead of the July election.
“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,” Sunak said in a statement.
The mandate would require 18-year-olds to choose between either a full-time placement in the armed forces or cyber defence for one year, or volunteering in their community for the equivalent of one weekend per month for one year.
The Tories would create a Royal Commission to help launch applications for the pilot programme in September 2025. The party would then introduce the mandate via a new National Service Act by the end of the next parliament.
Passing the proposal would require not only require Sunak to beat to odds and win the election but would likely face a vigorous debate in any future parliament.
The proposal would see the UK join a number of countries that have similar mandatory national service programmes, including Israel, South Korea and Singapore. Britain last introduced mandatory national service in the years after World War II as the nation sought to manage its commitments overseas, eventually scrapping the plan in the 1960s.
Sunak is trying to set out a bold new agenda after he unexpectedly announced a general election on July 4, defying expectations of a vote in the second half of 2024. The prime minster and his party are lagging behind the opposition Labour Party and its leader Keir Starmer.
Meanwhile, Starmer reiterated the party’s support for opening up the voting age to 16- and 17-year-olds at a campaign event on Saturday, The Guardian reported.
The surprise election call has coincided with a slight uptick in approval. A YouGov poll published Saturday found that 25 per cent of Britons view Sunak favourably, up 5 percentage points from earlier in May. Meanwhile, the Sunday poll said that 34 per cent of Britons view Starmer favourably.
The national service plan is expected to cost £2.5 billion (US$3.2 billion) each year by 2030, according to the statement.
The Tories said £1 billion would be paid for with capital raised from a crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion, and the remaining £1.5 billion will be through funding previously used for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The shared prosperity fund would be used for National Service starting from 2028-2029.