Rishi Sunak: I will bring back National Service

Rishi Sunak has vowed to bring back National Service for 18-year-olds to create a “renewed sense of pride in our country” in his first major policy announcement of the election campaign.

Under the mandatory scheme, school leavers will have to either enrol on a 12-month military placement or spend one weekend each month volunteering in their community.

The policy pledge comes after Mr Sunak surprised the country with the announcement of the July 4 snap poll on Wednesday.

Unveiling the National Service scheme, Mr Sunak said it was aimed at instilling a “shared sense of purpose” in youngsters in the face of forces which were “trying to divide our society”.

The Conservatives hope the policy will mark a clear dividing line between them and Labour as they seek to present themselves as the only party that can be trusted with the UK’s security and defence.

Earlier this year, the head of the Army said that Britain should train a “citizen army” ready to fight a war on land in the future.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday evening, Mr Sunak warned that “you, your family and our country are all at risk if Labour win”.

The £2.5 billion National Service scheme will see school leavers apply for a year-long placement in the Armed Forces or the UK’s cyber defences where they will gain experience in logistics, cyber security, procurement and civil response operations such as flood defences.

The placements, which are open to 30,000 youngsters, will involve residential stays at army barracks or other military facilities around the country.

The volunteering route will see 18-year-olds spend one weekend each month working in the fire services, police, the NHS as well as local charities tackling loneliness and supporting older, isolated people.

National Service was introduced in the UK in 1949, with all physically fit males aged 17 and 21 having to serve in the Armed Forces initially for 18 months, but lengthened to two years in 1950.

They then remained on the reserve list for another four years and during this time they could be called on to serve with their units but on no more than three occasions for a maximum of 20 days. During the 1950s national servicemen took part in various military operations in Malaya, Korea, Cyprus and Kenya.

National Service officially ended in 1960 although periods of deferred service still had to be completed. The last national servicemen were discharged in 1963.

The policy announcement came after senior Conservatives warned that Mr Sunak “can’t afford any more gaffes” after a shaky start to the election campaign, which he announced in the pouring rain without an umbrella on Wednesday and was disrupted by protesters playing Things Can Only Get Better, the New Labour anthem.

Mr Sunak was mocked for visiting Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, leading to jibes about him “sinking” as the Tories continue to heavily trail Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour in the polls.

The Conservative Party’s campaign launch was also dampened by a series of high-profile MPs - including Cabinet minister Michael Gove and health minister Dame Andrea Leadsom - both announcing they would quit politics.

The number of Tory MPs standing down has now surpassed the Conservative Party record set in 1997 when Labour won a landslide under Sir Tony Blair. Bim Afolami, a Treasury minister, insisted that the scale of the exodus was “not unnatural”.

However, Downing Street received a boost on Saturday when the first YouGov poll since he triggered the July 4 vote found that voters who backed the Tories in 2019 were now more likely to have a favourable opinion of the Prime Minister.

Those who backed the Conservatives at the last election have become more favourable towards the Prime Minister after he called the snap election, the polling shows. The figures will add to hopes that the polls could narrow significantly between now and polling day.

Mr Sunak pledged that a future Conservative government would set up a Royal Commission to design the National Service programme, with a pilot scheme opening for applications in September 2025 ahead of a national rollout by 2029.

Earlier this year, the head of the Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders warned that an increase in reserve forces alone “would not be enough”.

He highlighted the threat from Russia and pointed to steps being taken by other European nations to put their populations on a “war footing”.

In a speech at an armoured vehicle conference in January, Gen Sir Patrick stressed that the Army, which is predicted to have just 72,500 fully trained soldiers by 2025, would not be big enough to fight an all-out war with Russia even if it numbered 120,000.

Mr Sunak hopes to build on the “national spirit” during the pandemic - which saw thousands of people take up charitable work as vaccinators, NHS responders and volunteers - and channel it into the National Service scheme.

The Conservative party also believe the initiative could help to keep young people in education, employment or training by equipping them with a range of new skills.

Policy officials studied similar schemes in other European countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Denmark are long-established and the French president Emmanuel Macron has announced Service National Universal – a one-month residential placement for all 16-year-olds followed by three months of part-time voluntary service – which will be mandatory when rolled out fully.

Mr Sunak 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.

“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.”

James Johnson, a former Downing Street pollster, said the policy was designed to be a “landgrab” for Reform voters.

He pointed to recent research from his polling company JL Partners which found that compulsory national service for young people was particularly popular among Reform voters.