Huge conscription warning to lift call-up age in ‘warlike preparations’
The new measures are being introduced as part of a new bill which will be published in Parliament and will make it easier to mobilise tens of thousands of former military personnel
The plans have been slammed as “political gesturing”(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The Government’s proposals to sign up veterans over the age of 60 to the pool of reserve soldiers has been slammed as “political gesturing”. The government is set to raise the age which the army’s strategic reserve – the nation’s pool of retired soldiers – can be called upon from 55 to 65.
The new measures are being introduced as part of a new Armed Forces bill which will make it easier to mobilise tens of thousands of former military personnel if World War 3 breaks out.
But Will Ashford-Brown, director of Strategic Insights at the Heligan Group, said while the plans will strengthen the Armed Forces on paper, “it does little to deter our adversaries”.
In a report, he wrote: “It is, in effect, political signalling that fails to confront the deep‑rooted issues undermining our ability to recruit and retain a credible fighting force.”
The Army has shrunk to its smallest number in more than 200 years, with just over 70,000 full-time, fully-trained troops ready to deploy to the frontline, causing concern among experts amid soaring tensions as war rages in Europe and the Middle East.
The strategic reserve also includes a wider “recall reserve” that can be mobilised in dire emergencies and increasing the maximum recall age is designed to make it easier to mobilise former personnel in a crisis.
But Mr Ashford-Brown wrote: “If, in the event of war, the Strategic Reserve could be effectively mobilised, mustered with a force genuinely motivated to defend the homeland, and was properly equipped to do so — would it truly constitute a credible fighting force? Unfortunately, the short answer is no.”
There are almost 32,000 active reservists across the three wings of the Armed Forces at the moment. Under existing rules, the pool of retired soldiers can be called upon in case of “national danger, great emergency or attack in the UK”.
But the new changes will see it lowered to “warlike preparations”, which is already the threshold for reservists who have recently left the Armed Forces.
Mr Ashford-Brown added: “I contend that the UK Armed Forces Bill mainly serves as political gesturing – to appease a UK populace that has grown tired of the incumbent government – rather than providing tangible military deterrence.
“At play are a number of factors that undermine the UK military’s ability to raise and manage such a force, rendering the initiative flawed.
“Firstly, the MoD [Ministry of Defence] lacks any concrete method to mobilise the Strategic Reserve as a result of historically lax tracking of service leavers.
“Therefore, the MoD only has a limited understanding of which individuals comprise the Strategic Reserve, where they live, how to contact them, their skill set and importantly their suitability to serve in the UK Armed Forces.
“Underlying this procedural challenge is a more fundamental problem – the UK’s declining patriotism.”
The changes will take effect in the spring of 2027, and those who have already left the military will not be affected unless they opt in.
About 95,000 people are estimated to be liable for recall as part of the strategic reserve, although the Ministry of Defence does not publish statistics on the recall reserve. While it is technically not conscription, it does bear some similarities.
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