Every 18-year-old will be required by law to sign up for a year of National Service under plans unveiled by the Conservatives this weekend.
Rishi Sunak’s first manifesto commitment would see youngsters given the choice between a full-time course or spending one weekend a month volunteering in their community. There will be sanctions for teenagers who do not take part. Up to 30,000 full-time positions will be created either in the armed forces or in cybersecurity training. The weekend placements could be with the fire or police service, the NHS or charities tackling loneliness and supporting older, isolated people.
The Tories have pledged to set up a royal commission to design the £2.5 billion programme and establish details such as how the cybertraining would be delivered. A pilot will start next year and by the end of the parliament legislation will be passed making it mandatory for all 18-year-olds.
The announcement follows the third full day of election campaigning which saw Labour and the Tories battle over the economy. In Stafford, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed his party’s plans to lower the voting age to 16 and stressed that Labour could be trusted to deliver “economic stability”.
In Fulham, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, used a visit to an Iceland supermarket to discuss the cost of living crisis, during which she refused to rule out increasing personal taxes while insisting she had “no plans” to do so.
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In other developments:
• Labour rebranded its workers’ rights package in a bid to calm business jitters and win over swing voters, sparking renewed concern among trade unions;
• Sir Ed Davey headed to education secretary Gillian Keegan’s seat in Chichester as the Lib Dems stepped up their assault on the Blue Wall;
• Nigel Farage, who is not standing, said he will spend this week campaigning for Reform UK in Dover, London, Skegness and Ashfield and seek to “inject some passion” into “the dullest election campaign in history”;
• Boris Johnson will miss most of the election campaign as he spends the summer on a series of foreign trips;
• Tory donors have privately launched a fresh bid to water down the party’s non-dom policy;
• Lord Vaizey, a close friend of Michael Gove, said it was “inevitable” the departing cabinet minister would end up on Strictly Come Dancing.
The Tories said they wanted their National Service scheme to encourage Britons from different backgrounds to rediscover the “national spirit”, as well as repair some of the damage that Covid lockdowns had inflicted on young people’s education and preparation for the adult world. The first pilot scheme will open for applications in September 2025 and the party will introduce a National Service Act by the end of the next parliament.
In his first opening salvo of the election, the prime minister said: “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 have a clear plan to address this and secure our future. I will bring in a new version of National Service to create a shared sense of purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country.
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“This new, mandatory National Service 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.”
National Service in the UK officially ended in 1960. It had been introduced after the end of the Second World War and required all healthy males between the ages of 17 and 21 to serve in a branch of the armed forces for 18 months then remain on a reserve list for another four years.
Sweden, Norway and Denmark have recently reintroduced modern forms of National Service, while President Macron of France has announced Service National Universel — a one-month residential placement for all 16-year-olds followed by three months’ part-time voluntary service — which will be mandatory when rolled out fully.
The idea of recreating a scheme that encourages young people to play an active role in British civic society has long been a debating point in Westminster.
David Cameron’s National Citizen Service, set up after the Conservatives entered Downing Street in 2010, was a central plank of his “Big Society” vision.
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The voluntary scheme saw young people take part in community projects rather than military service, although participation has been limited.
Last year Onward, the centre-right think tank whose former director Will Tanner is now head of No 10’s policy unit and Sunak’s deputy chief of staff, published a report advocating what was described as new “Great British National Service”.
The report, which was backed by Penny Mordaunt, the former defence secretary and leader of the House of Commons, called for all 16-year-olds to be automatically enrolled in the scheme where the teenagers would spend a fortnight away on a civic exploration trip and be made to complete a certain amount of volunteering hours per year.
Polling conducted at the time for Onward by JL Partners found that three times as many young people aged 16 to 21 support National Service than oppose it.
Earlier this year, the head of the army said Britain should train a “citizen army” ready to fight a war on land in the future. General Sir Patrick Sanders warned that an increase in reserve forces alone “would not be enough”.
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He highlighted the threat from Russia and pointed to steps being taken by other European nations to put their populations on a “war footing”.
