Rishi Sunak’s chaotic National Service plan would force young England stars to miss crunch games if they’re called up to major tournaments, Labour warned.
The heavily-criticised wheeze to win over right-wing voters would see teenagers forced to do military service or mandatory volunteering over a year. But Labour says it could impact the Three Lions at future tournaments as critics tore into the surprise policy.
Labour ripped the plan to shreds in a new attack dossier, which named England stars who were called up for tournaments when they were 18. It said:“ Jude Bellingham, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw have all been part of a senior England squad at an international competition when aged 18.
“Would they have been required to complete their one weekend of National Service during those tournaments?” Shadow Paymaster General Jon Ashworth said: “Would they be taken out of playing during the inevitable shootout in the semi-finals?”
He claimed that Mr Sunak’s National Service plan had “completely unravelled” and said there are dozens of unanswered questions. A Tory source said highly paid footballers would not be exempted from National Service. “There would not be exemptions for people who earn lots of money,” the source said. “It is 25 days per annum so it can be done at any point in the year.”
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Mr Sunak’s announcement has descended into farce as angry Tories voiced their anger over the move. And Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker claimed the idea had been “sprung” on MPs and candidates without their input as Mr Sunak faces more infighting over the flagship plan.
Just last week the Government maintained it had no intention of bringing in National Service. MOD minister Andrew Murrison even outlined the dangers of bringing in teenage recruits alongside professional servicemen and women.
But at the weekend Mr Sunak announced that all 18-year-olds will be forced to take part in his proposed new programme, which will cost around £2.5billion. Young people 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.
In a sign of a split among high-ranking Tories, Mr Baker responded to concerns about the impact on Northern Ireland by stating: “I don’t like to be pedantic but a Government policy would have been developed by ministers on the advice of officials and collectively agreed. I would have had a say on behalf of NI. But this proposal was developed by a political adviser or advisers and sprung on candidates, some of whom are relevant ministers.”
And party members were far from impressed. In leaked messages shown to The Mirror, members of the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO) warned that Mr Sunak’s attempt to woo voters make him look “out of touch” and dismissed the unexpected policy as a “stunt”.
One CDO member wrote: “What it does smack of is that Sunak is out of ideas and reeks of desperation imo.” And another responded: “IMO the idea of National Service was NOT even on the cards last week. However the think tank came up with this vote winning idea NOT to say that it it is ever going to happen. Sorry just a pre election stunt.”
In a further message, a group member dubbed it a “freak power control policy” and went on: “Honestly, I don’t think Rishi could have said anything else more damaging.” Another said: “Rishi needs to be stopped, he has not one ounce of sense.”
There was confusion over how it would be enforced. Leaked Government memos seen by The Mirror suggested ministers hadn’t ruled out arresting young people who don’t attend their National Service.
Home Secretary James Cleverly appeared to backtrack on Sunday, but Ms Trevelyan didn’t rule out parents being fined if their kids fail to show up. Asked if this would happen, she said: “I’m not going to write the detailed policy now. That’s what a royal commission programme of works will be for.”
Tory deputy chairman James Daly later tried to dampen this idea, claiming Ms Trevelyan “certainly doesn’t have responsibility for this area”. Labour hit out at the confusion. But Labour’s Mr Ashworth said:“The Tory campaign is in absolute chaos, with more positions on their flagship policy than the Kama Sutra. Now, Tory MPs are arguing among themselves about whether they are going to arrest parents, whether it will apply to Northern Ireland and how much it will cost.”