IF the Tories win the general election on Thursday 4th July, Great Britain would likely see “National Service” return to our land as early as September 2025. How do you feel about that? Good, bad, indifferent? Is this simply for the good of youth, to give young people responsibility and direction and bring back a sense of community and “National Spirit” or is this preparing our land for future conflict, ensuring our children have skills that can be “called-up” when the time comes because of our current lack of defence and inadequate vital civilian infrastructure that just couldn’t cope with another pandemic or war?
What was National service?
After the Second World War (1939-45), the young men of Britain were called upon to meet new challenges in a rapidly changing world. National Service, a standardised form of peacetime conscription, was introduced in 1947 for all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 21.
Between 1949 – when the National Service Act came into force – and 1963 – when the last National Serviceman was demobbed – more than 2 million men were conscripted to the British Army, Royal Navy or Royal Air Force.
Let’s briefly recap on the history of National Service in Great Britain.
- National service was introduced in 1947 after World War Two by Clement Attlee’s Labour government.
- It meant men between the ages of 18 and 21 had to serve in the armed forces for 18 months.
- The mandatory national service scheme came to an end in 1960.
Let’s briefly recap on Rishi Sunak’s Conservative pledge.
- Twelve months of mandatory national service would be reintroduced by the Conservatives if they win the general election.
- Eighteen-year-olds would be able to apply for one of 30,000 full-time military placements or volunteering one weekend a month carrying out a community service.
- The armed forces placements would allow young people to learn about cyber security, logistics, procurement, or civil response operations.
- Non-military volunteering would involve 25 days with organisations such as the fire service, the police and the NHS.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
The National Service Experience
National Service was a shock to the system for many. But others relished the opportunities and experiences it gave them. Bonds formed quickly between men from disparate backgrounds, thrown together in a strange situation. These bonds were strengthened by the discipline imposed on them from basic training onwards. Some of the friendships formed during National Service would last a lifetime.
What are your thoughts on a mandatory National Service?
While most of us will need to really think about this, I think most of us have a gut reaction.
Being ex-military myself, I learned a LOT during my short time in the No. 2620 (County of Norfolk) Squadron RAuxAF Regiment as a young 22 year old. But this isn’t for everybody! I’ve learned much more about young people, mental health, neurodiversity since then.
With the “new” National Service scheme we also have an alternative volunteer placement in some of our main services which would be the NHS, Fire and Police services. Goodness knows we need these critical services. I’m actually kind of liking this option but again feel the importance of matching individuals with suitable volunteer roles. This all has to be carefully thought out.
Do you know of anyone who took part in the original National Service? I’d love to hear what your thoughts are!
Return to rationing starts soon!
So my return to rationing starts very soon! Next Sunday (June 2nd) to be precise! I’ve cleaned out and organised my rationing cupboard and I’m currently sorting out my “war-store” under the stairs and I now have a plan for my sustainable rationing plan (long-term) which will allow me to relive historically not only the rationing of the time but continue to work on my obesity, save money, and enjoy the odd non 1940s treat. I will share this fully with you next weekend with a YouTube video and an in depth blog post!
C xxxx
Links to articles cited..
Hi Carolyn, hope you are well. Interesting piece and I read this with coffee and an open mind this morning 🙂 I saw the news break last night and I guess my initial thought was mmm why this why now just after an official guidance has been published about prepping from Dep PM. What aren’t they telling us? I also thought it would be a good idea for many young people to give them direction and I would have, when younger, jumped at the chance myself but I realise this isn’t for everyone and a nephew of mine in particular is already worried sick about this so I’m interested in the other options on a voluntary basis. Coming from the police family with a son and DIL serving now, I’m interested in their reactions. Most of the services Sunak refers to as being engaged with this plan so young people can volunteer are so cut back they don’t have any time to teach and train anyone. They are so pushed, mentoring has sadly either taken a back seat or puts a total strain on the tutor. I wonder how others will perceive this. How would I have felt if my boys were in this age category now?
I absolutely agree. My son went to University at 18 and has gone on to carve a career in the NHS. I don’t think this would have done him any good whatsoever. He tells me, they are so short of money in the NHS they can’t employ enough staff, and the idea of once a month youths having to be trained is just beyond what this very overstretched service could cope with. I know from friends in Sweden that they have national service but not everyone has to do it. My grandson is just finishing his first year at University, nowadays students have to work, mainly evenings and weekends, I can’t see an employer giving an employee the time off. I think this just shows how out of touch the Conservative Party is. They are obviously trying to appeal to their older voters, but I can’t see any younger voters being enamoured. Like most of their hare brained schemes, how many millions would be wasted on this?
I totally agree with you Paris.
I should say at the outset that I’m apolitical, so not affiliated to any of the parties in the upcoming General Election.
But I’d like to make a couple of points specific to Sunak’s ‘pledge’ in addition to my post earlier on the more general topic of traditional National Service.
Firstly, the cost of such a scheme, should it even happen would, I feel, be better spent on more proven methods for the young rather than a reactive vote-grabber aimed at the ‘silver voter’.
Secondly, we’re told this is aimed at eighteen year-olds. And yet it’s public record that the police, schools and other agencies are now taking knives and other weapons off feral kids not yet into their teens. By the age of eighteen, quite frankly, you’ve lost those kids. Anything proactive needs to be done from the age of nine or ten at the latest.
And lastly, late last year and then again last month, it was widely reported in the press of the massive non-compliance of Community Service Orders handed down by the criminal courts to convicted offenders. If the authorities are unable to enforce such orders from sentencing judges and the criminal justice system, how on earth are the authorities going to enforce participation among such a large group of eighteen year-olds, many of whom will hardly be bursting with enthusiasm?
If the current government wins in July, and this pie-in-the-sky pledge gets half-heartedly rolled out, the best you’re likely to see is a few well-choreographed photos in 2026 of a bunch of rural kids planting hedgerows in old farmer Giles’ field.
Just my tuppence worth…
Agreed! I honestly think we need to see how this would be administered and then it isn’t a solution or a good thing for everyone. C xxxx
My thoughts were quite similar to yours Jules! Our infrastructure is already overstretched! I do think there are a LOT of questions that need to be answered around this, not only the practical administration of it all but things like is there a caveat after “National service” where youth that have undertaken NS will be the first to be conscripted in the case of war? I know even as a part-timer in the forces, for 4 years after I left that I would be called up for military service if we went to war. Obviously, in times of war, we also need more medical staff, fire and police services too. C xxxx
Being ex prison service of young offenders, I say GO FOR IT!! Get some discipline and understand the world outside of their little gangs etc. Teaches them skills they wouldn’t get at school or college and let them understand the meaning of Team and working to support each other!!
It’s too little too late. It wouldn’t be National Service of the ilk that our parents remember, it would be ‘ if you don’t mind, please could you….’ Really it’s just enforced voluntary work.
Both of my sons volunteered and became officers. Eighteen-year-olds today are unfit for duty. They are unfit for life. It’s terrifying to think they are our future.
He’s not necessarily talking national service in the armed forces, more about young people being of service in the community. A great idea. As well as helping charities etc. it would also give young people work experience.
In Norway they still have conscription for 18yo. My friends grand daughter has just completed her 6 months up in the arctic circle. Because of a health condition her younger sister won’t be able to serve and is sad about it
To me this looks like the government getting forced labor on the cheap, labor that should be performed by professionals who are paid a professional wage. When I look at societies that have conscription — which is a serious infraction of individual rights — they tend to be militarized. I understand conscription in times of war, but most military experts think that a full time professional army is required to conduct modern warfare. With respect to use of conscripts for municipal services such as fire and police, it’s still the government trying to get labor at rock bottom prices so that they don’t have to pay for (and tax for) a professional, properly paid civil service. If you want to see it clearly, imagine conscripting people to go down the mines (as they did in WW2) and see if that seems fair. No one should have to perform involuntary labor in times of peace. The government does not own you and should not be able to commandeer your time except in a dire emergency. Their assertion that they can control you and delegate your time and labor is where all the trouble begins.
I think National Service isn’t a bad thing!
My Dad got his National Service papers in 1951 & when he & his best friend went to the recruiting office, my Dad decided to join as a regular in the Royal Engineers & was deployed to Osnabrück, West Germany to help with the post war rebuild. Our children did CCF & my eldest went to Sandhurst officer training college.
As for ‘helping’ in other vital service areas I’m not sure….there is already fire cadets, like army, air & sea cadets. I Know a little about the police & fire & rescue services & I’m not sure it would work. It’s 3 months at training school before you are let anywhere near a fire ground & longer for policing & we did used to have police cadets, 2 1/2 yrs from 16 to 18 1/2, then you became a probationer for a further 2 years, till Margaret Thatcher stopped them (I was one of the last police cadets to be recruited in the early ‘80’s.
Given that much of what politicians (of all colours) claim to be planning in the run up to a General Election turns out to be hot air, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
One might cynically suggest this is simply appealing to the ‘silver voter’, many of whom still remember or are related to someone, who experienced National Service first time around.
We know for a fact over the last fifty-years, that whenever the subject has been broached theoretically, all branches of the armed forces have categorically said “No thank you.”
I’m aware that a minority of voters believe that the return of National Service would somehow solve the sticky issue of ‘lawless youth’ and the unacceptable levels of knife crime in many of our major cities, but they are also the same group likely to advocate the reintroduction of Capital Punishment as an answer to murder.
Personally, I would question the efficacy of reintroducing either in 2024.
As an American, I can’t speak to whether or not this is a good thing in the UK. I have no cell/mobile phone (never have), but, lately, my husband has been showing me Tik Toks he’s seen on the web (he has no mobile either) and they are mainly young women trying to get famous for looking like a street-walker” or singing and dancing badly. But there’s an entirely new Tik Tok wave of young people whinging and actually weeping over how hard it is to have a job. ACTUAL TRANSCRIPT of one: “There isn’t time to go out and have fun. I have to get up, get ready, drive there, work all day, then drive home, and I’m tired. I have to feed my cat and buy groceries and answer all my emails and comments on my channels. There’s no time left to go out and there’s NO MONEY! I have to pay for rent, and gas, and car insurance, and food. When do I get to have fun? Working is hard and I shouldn’t have to do it. You have to work just to eat and have a place to live! How am I supposed to find a boyfriend so he can take me out and treat me like a goddess?”
My point being: Please bring this idea to the U.S. Congress. An inordinate number of young people have no guidance and would greatly benefit from some structure in their lives. And some truth about life. I do like the fact that it isn’t all military. That sounds very promising.
Here in Canada too. I feel it’s a good idea for us, not sure about anywhere else but I imagine quite a few are in agreement for the most part. If I was young, I’d be into it. Of course, mental health as well as physical health would need to be a consideration.
I’m in the US also, and I’ve long thought we need to have a year (or more) of mandatory service. Whether that’s military or Americorps, I don’t care (meaning that I think the choice of either would be fine), but something to get these kids out of their insular little world. And I say that as the parent of a 15-year-old who has done a lot through Scouts but still has no idea about the world out there. I wanted to do Americorps after college but the program I wanted didn’t mesh with my graduation date.
Although I’m loath to make predictions as I’m not Madam Za Za with her crystal ball, and the future is far too fluid to be accurate so far ahead of time, I thought it might be fun to muse how this proposed National Service might play out over the next decade.
2025 – Having won the General Election the previous year by the slimmest of margins, the government kicks off it’s much maligned National Service. Despite political fanfare, take-up of places is sporadic at best.
2026 – The second year of the scheme brings criticisms from opposition parties citing the failure of authorities to uphold the mandatory status of the scheme, and it’s draw on the public purse. The government in reply publishes photographs of Poppy in Cheltenham pulling rubbish from a local duck pond, and Giles from Wokingham shopping for the old folk.
2027 – Numbers of participants in the scheme continue to disappoint, and national groups looking at statistics claim a marked lack of diversity in the overall figures of those taking part. Local authorities, especially in the inner cities and deprived areas, complain the scheme has done little of any value for those in most need.
2028 – A national broadsheet uncovers evidence of both criminality and abuse by poorly vetted individuals tasked to organise certain activities, with suspicion that organised crime is also involved. The government promises robust investigation of all claims.
2029 – Labour wins a landslide election, and despite it’s past criticisms of the programme, continues to tacitly support it, though alters the scheme’s mandatory status to voluntary from the start of the following year.
2030 to 2033 – Over the next four years of government, funding for the scheme is incrementally reduced as pressure on the public purse brings more pressing obligations.
2034 onwards – Labour wins a second term in office, and sometime during the next five years, the scheme is quietly and finally scrapped altogether.
Fact or fiction? Cynical or realistic? You decide…
I’m pretty apolitical too at the moment but in the past have leaned towards Labour as my biggest passion is the NHS. Some great predictions above! If Labour win the General Election in July do you think they will think about bringing in National service like they did in post-war Britain? How on earth did they manage to administer national service then with their dwindled military and civilian infrastructure?
I probably come across as a hard boiled cynic in all of this, though in fact as a concept, I actually rather like it.
But I can’t help thinking that if the election result in five weeks means this actually happens, it’ll be a right-old dog’s dinner. I’ve yet to see where and how it’s been robustly planned. At present, it comes across as little more than a desperate white rabbit pulled out of a political top hat.
I’d like to see evidence of meticulous planning involving specialists and experts for at least a year or two, and also proven small-scale trials around the country to identify potential issues. And rather importantly, how the authorities plan to enforce attendance and participation. Because as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, if the government are currently unable to enforce community service handed down by courts, how on earth are we expected to believe they’ll cope with stroppy eighteen year-olds from sink estates across the country?
In answer to your question about Labour, I think governments of all colours would enact conscription or full-fat National Service should the international circumstances dictate. I doubt they’ll take the semi-skimmed route of the Tory announcement though. Maybe too many irons in the fire already?
It’s a huge topic to debate, with numerous diverse opinions on offer. I’m sure there are plenty chewing over the very same fat as we are, all over the country.
Personally, I’m thinking of disappearing into a remote cave somewhere until after the General Election is over. It’s doing my head in already! LOL!!
Quote: I’d like to see evidence of meticulous planning involving specialists and experts for at least a year or two, and also proven small-scale trials around the country to identify potential issues. And rather importantly, how the authorities plan to enforce attendance and participation. – 100 %
My Dad did his National Service in 1949/50, he always says it was the making of him. He came from a working class family, in a terraced house in Manchester, raised with his sister by his Mum after his Dad had died, with help from his 5 Aunties who all lived very close by. To go from such a female dominated environment straight to the Army was a massive shock to his system. But he made friends that he kept in contact with all his life. He served in Britain and was stationed for a while in Austria, he took my Mum there for their 25th wedding anniversary. He said it brought his memories back to life.
So based partly on his account and knowing that volunteering for other emergency services would also be available for anyone with a need to avoid the military for whatever reason. I am all for this idea.
Wow, some absolutely great comments on thoughts around National Service! These have really made me think!!! I love how some comments have shared the thoughts of people who actually did their National Service, what they thought about it at the time and how it impacted their lives. It is also abundantly clear that to implement a NEW National Service based on skills and community service, this would need a huge amount of investment in skilled people and tutors to implement this on a National level. I’m still on the fence! I know I can talk from experience having been a young person in the NHS and in the forces, but also caring for younger people with emotional needs and mental health issues who would struggle with being part of a scheme like this. I also am against mandatory implementation for this very reason. I think that if National Service is implemented we need to mindful and adapt the scheme in some way. Would I have done National Service at 18? I might have but I went straight into Nursing Training at 18 and if National service is brought back in, it mustn’t impede education/training of our Youth. C xxxx
I think service would be good for many of the young people just floating around aimlessly. They may want a different program for students that go to college with a direct aim such as nurses, doctors, engineers etc. If they drop out they go to military service.
My dad did his National Service in Malaya, helping with the ’emergency’ clear up in the late 1950’s. He learned to drive in a Scout car, he travelled by ship there and back, 3 weeks each way, on the SS Oxfordshire, and was very proud of his time there, particularly when he was awarded the Pingat Jasa medal for his service many years later!
I think that if HM Gov said that….When you leave school, if you didn’t have a job, or go to university, or teacher/ nurse / police etc. etc. training, then you should either do 12 months National Service doing the basic training, not the actual ‘work’, or 12 months sweeping roads, clearing rubbish from hedge rows, filling potholes, etc. Then they could claim their wages and make a contribution to society. Just my thoughts…