Rishi Sunak’s ‘bold’ National Service plan backed by Leicestershire politician

A Leicestershire politician has backed a new scheme which will see all 18-year-olds take part in national service. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the plan over the weekend, and now Alberto Costa has backed it.

Mr Costa, who has represented South Leicestershire since 2015, praised the scheme as “bold” and said it would give “young people the skills and opportunities to secure a brighter future in a more uncertain world”.

Leicestershire residents are more divided over the scheme. I spoke to people in Loughborough after the announcement was made and reactions ranged from ‘not connected’ to ‘maybe a good thing’.

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Under the plan, all 18-year-olds will either spend a full year on a UK military or cyber defense placement or spend the equivalent of one weekend a month – 25 days a year – volunteering in a “role civic’, such as within the NHS, police or fire service.

Mr Costa said: “We have so much to be proud of in Britain, but one of the problems we face is that too many young people are not getting the opportunities they deserve. I welcome our new National Service model which will give young people in South Leicestershire the choice of serving in our world-leading armed forces or volunteering for our community so they can contribute to their country by gaining in at the same time the valuable skills they need for brighter work. future.

“Many young people I talk to want to learn real-world skills and take on responsibilities that will serve their future.”

The scheme is proposed to be funded by a plan to raise a further £6bn a year by the end of the next Parliament by tackling tax avoidance and evasion. Of this, £1 billion will go to National Service, on top of the remaining £1.5 billion previously used for the UK’s Shared Prosperity Fund, the Conservative Party said.

Another local politician, Liz Kendall, who is Labour’s work and pensions secretary, criticized the proposal. “This is an unfunded commitment, a headline-grabbing gimmick, not an adequate plan to deliver it, not addressing the big challenges facing young people who are desperate to get the skills and qualifications they need to get jobs good work , to have a home they can call their own,” she told Sky News.