What is National Service plan and can your teenager be compelled to serve in Army

Rishi Sunak has vowed to bring back a “mandatory” form of national service scheme if the Tories win July’s General Election.

The PM – who has never served in the armed forces – believes reviving compulsory service would help bring back the “national spirit” that emerged during the pandemic.

The desperate pitch to older voters comes as the Tory leader struggles to turn around his party’s gloomy prospects after a series of blunders in the first days of the campaign. National service ended in the UK in 1960 by the ex-Tory PM Harold Macmillan and the last servicemen were discharged three years later.

Under that scheme physically fit men between 17 and 21 had to serve in one of the armed forces for an 18-month period. What the Tories are proposing is not the same. Here, The Mirror looks at the details so far.

What’s the Tory plan?

The Tory plan includes forcing teenagers when they reach the age of 18 to serve in the military or UK cyber defence for 12 months where they will “learn and take part in logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations”.

But it is not considered to be conscription. Teens will also be able to pick another option to “volunteer” for the equivalent of one weekend per month – 25 days per year – in their community.

A briefing says this could include organisations such as the fire service, police, the NHS, and charities working with older people to tackle loneliness. A Tory paper also suggests young people could help out at the British Red Cross, the RNLI search and rescue charity, and at St John’s Ambulance. Most teenagers will end up in the volunteering side of the scheme – which they will not be paid for.

What other countries have national service?

The Tories have highlighted similar schemes – or planned schemes – in Europe. In Sweden some teenagers are conscripted -around 8,000 each year – after rigorous tests. The BBC reported earlier this year that Denmark also plans to extend military conscription to women from 2026. In France, President Macron is also looking at plans for mandatory national service. The scheme has been trialled on a voluntary basis but reports have suggested only 32,000 young people had signed up for four weeks of civic service.

When would it happen?

If the Tories win the General Election the future Government would establish a Royal Commission to design the programme. The party says the first national service pilots would be open for application in September 2025 – before a National Service Act is introduced. The proposed legislation would make it mandatory that every 18-year-old will be “required to do national service by the end of the next Parliament” – in five years’ time.

How much would it cost?

The Tories estimate it will 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) – a package to support charities and community groups. Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already pledged to crackdown on tax dodgers – but instead she will use the cash to fix the NHS.

Are there sanctions for not taking part?

This is where the plan gets more chaotic. A leaked Tory briefing paper seen by The Mirror does not rule out teens being arrested for not taking part in the mandatory national service scheme.

In a Q&A section of the document, it asks: “Will you arrest people who don’t comply?” The response is: “It is right that those who contribute to our system are duly rewarded, and those who refuse receive none of the benefits. The Royal Commission will explore an appropriate incentives regime.”

But the Home Secretary told Sky News today 18-year-olds would not be forced to go to jail if they refuse to carry out “mandatory” national service. “No, there’s going to be no criminal sanction. There’s no one going to jail over this,” he added.

What has Labour said?

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said the Conservatives’ national service announcement was a “gimmick”. She told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show: “Elections should be about the country’s future, not fighting for a better past.”

Responding to the annoucement, a Labour spokesman said: “This is another desperate £2.5 billion unfunded commitment from a Tory Party which already crashed the economy, sending mortgages rocketing, and now they’re spoiling for more.

“This is not a plan – it’s a review which could cost billions and is only needed because the Tories hollowed out the Armed Forces to their smallest size since Napoleon. Britain has had enough of the Conservatives, who are bankrupt of ideas, and have no plans to end 14 years of chaos. It’s time to turn the page and rebuild Britain with Labour.”

Labour has instead proposed giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote.

Is it likely to happen?

Well, if the polls are correct, no. The Tories are still trailing Keir Starmer’s Labour in the national polls and are on course for a heavy defeat at the July General Election.