Rishi Sunak announces a year of national service for all teenagers

Eighteen-year-olds would be forced to do a form of national service if the Tories are voted back into the general election on July 4, Rishi Sunak has announced. Young people would be given a choice between a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year “voluntarily” in their community, the Tories said.

The prime minister said the policy would help unite society in an “increasingly uncertain world” and give young people a “shared sense of purpose”. In an apparent pitch to older voters, he said volunteering could include helping local fire, police and NHS services, as well as charities tackling loneliness and supporting older, isolated people.

Opposition critics dismissed the plans as frivolous, with Labor saying the pledge would never materialize and amounted to “another unfunded pledge”. The prime minister is trying to draw a line with Sir Keir Starmer’s party on global security after his pledge to increase defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2030.

Stepping up his attack on Saturday, Sunak said voters would be left “in peril” with the Labor leader in No 10 as Britain’s enemies would see he “has no plan”. Teenagers who choose to sign up for a placement in the forces would “learn and take part in logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations”, the Tories said.

The Conservatives said they would set up a royal commission to bring in expertise from the military and civil society to work out the details of what they described as a “bold” national service programme. The party said this commission would be tasked with coming up with a proposal to ensure the first pilot is open for applications in September 2025.

After that, it will seek to introduce a new “National Service Act” to make the measures mandatory by the end of the next Parliament, the party said. The program is expected to cost £2.5 billion a year by the end of the decade and plans to fund £1 billion through plans to “crack down on tax avoidance and evasion”.

The remaining £1.5 billion will be paid for with money previously used for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which is a package of support for charities and community groups, the Tories said. 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 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. This new compulsory national service will provide life-changing opportunities for our young people, giving them the chance to learn real-world skills, do new things and contribute to their community and our country.”

Earlier on Saturday, the prime minister suggested a government led by Sir Keir would be marked by uncertainty and “a more dangerous world”. “The consequences of uncertainty are clear. No plan means a more dangerous world. You, your family and our country are all at risk if Labor wins,” he said.

Sir Keir’s party pointed out that Lord David Cameron had introduced a similar scheme – the National Service for Citizens – when he was prime minister. Lord Cameron’s announcement had no military component, instead encouraging young people to take part in activities such as educational-style outdoor courses as part of his “Big Society” initiative.

A Labor spokesman said: “This is not a plan – it is an overhaul that could cost billions and is only necessary because the Tories have emptied the armed forces to their smallest size since Napoleon. Britain has had enough of the Tories, who are out of ideas and have no plans to end 14 years of chaos. It’s time to turn the page and rebuild Britain with Labour.”

Liberal Democrat defense spokesman Richard Foord said: “If the Tories were serious about defence, they would reverse their damaging cuts to our world-class professional armed forces, instead of decimating them with cuts radical of our regular staff numbers.

“Our armed forces were once the envy of the world. This Conservative government has reduced troop numbers and plans more cuts to the size of the military. This would be much better spent on reversing Tory cuts to troop numbers.”

Mr Sunak’s pledge marks the first major policy announcement from either party ahead of the July 4 general election, which he called in a rain-soaked statement outside Downing Street earlier this week. The Prime Minister said he was “used” and enjoying himself on the campaign trail, despite a rocky start that saw him encounter several hiccups on a two-day, two-day tour of the four nations.

His trip included a visit to Belfast’s Titanic quarter, which invited unwanted “sinking ship” comparisons to his party’s fortunes, as well as a Welsh brewery where he made a footballing blunder about the Euros. Mr Sunak spent Saturday meeting local veterans in his North Yorkshire constituency of Richmond before joining campaigners on the doorstep in south-west London.

It is understood he will continue the route in the South East, while Rachel Reeves will deliver a hammering speech to party members in West Yorkshire as she heads to Labor on Sunday. Meanwhile, Sir Ed Davey will launch the Liberal Democrat battle bus in a marginal constituency in the so-called Tory blue wall in southern England.