Rishi Sunak announces mandatory national service for 18-year-olds if Tories win election
dailyrecord.co.ukTeenagers would be forced to carry out a form of national service if the Tories are voted back in at the General Election, Rishi Sunak has announced.
The Prime Minister said Britain has “generations of young people who have not had the opportunities they deserve”.In future, 18-year-olds 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 volunteering in their community, the Tories said.
The PM claimed the radical measure would help unite society in an “increasingly uncertain world”. In an apparent pitch to older voters, the party said this could include helping local fire, police and NHS services as well as charities tackling loneliness and supporting elderly, isolated people.The Prime Minister is seeking to draw a dividing line with Labour on global security following his pledge to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2030.
Heightening his attack on Saturday, Mr Sunak said voters would be left “at risk” with Sir Keir Starmer in Number 10 because Britain’s enemies would notice that he “doesn’t have a plan”.
Read more on dailyrecord.co.uk