In a document released on the Government’s own website without much fanfare called ‘conscription and national service in the UK,’ the full position of Starmer’s government is laid bare
The world is teetering closer to World War 3 – maybe, probably not, but who really knows – and many Brits are starting to wonder if they might be called upon to fight “for King and country”.
Well, while the rules don’t really exist because conscription in the UK was dropped in the 1960s, the government’s stance was revealed just a few weeks ago in a document released on its own website without much fanfare. Called “Conscription and national service in the UK” and placed in the House of Commons Library, the research briefing was made public on March 24.
Written by Louisa Brooke-Holland and Nigel Walker, the 26 page document is very much a “UK history of conscription and doesn’t give much insight into what our fate holds . . .
But buried within it, there is a section called “Government approach to conscription,” which does very much detail the current position of Keir Starmer’s Government’s attitude to Conscription, as well as what it would do with emergency powers.
It states, in full:
Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said in March 2025 that the government is not considering conscription. This reflects the policy of successive governments since national service ended in the 1960s. Just before Parliament was prorogued in May 2024, Dr Andrew Murrison, then Minister for Defence People and Veterans, set out the reasons why successive governments have taken this approach:
The best way of providing for the defence of our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces staffed by volunteers. The demanding, increasingly technical, nature of defence today is such that we require highly trained, professional men and women in our Regular and Reserve Armed Forces, fully committed to giving their best in defending our country and its allies. If potentially unwilling National Service recruits were to be obliged to serve alongside the professional men and women of our Armed Forces, it could damage morale, recruitment and retention and would consume professional military and naval resources.
If, on the other hand, National Service recruits were kept in separate units, it would be difficult to find a proper and meaningful role for them, potentially harming motivation and discipline. For all these reasons, there are no current plans for the restoration of any form of National Service.
“Gap Year” scheme:
In December 2025 the Defence Secretary, John Healey, and the Minister for Veterans and People, Louise Sandher-Jones, announced the launch of a “gap year” foundation scheme to give under-25s experience of the armed forces.
The scheme is set to launch in early 2026, with the first intake of around 150 participants gaining a year of paid experience and training across the armed forces. Ministers aim to expand the scheme to over 1,000 young people.
Neither conscription or national service, the government said “the Armed Forces Foundation Scheme will be designed to deliver transferrable skills to careers outside of the Armed Forces which will bolster national resilience.”
The scheme was a recommendation of the government’s 2025 Strategic Defence Review.
The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review:
The government published a new National Security Strategy (NSS) and a new Strategic Defence Review (SDR) in June 2025. Chapter 6 of the SDR focuses on resilience and a “whole-of-society approach”, with the need for society to reconnect to the armed forces to increase understanding of what the armed forces do and to raise public awareness of how the armed forces deter and protect against threats to the UK.
Whilst not explicitly mentioning conscription or national service, the SDR promotes the need for a new whole-of-society approach to defence and to strengthen the nation’s readiness for war.
Mobilisation in wartime There is no formal status of martial law or mobilisation in the United Kingdom. During the first and second world wars, the government was given wideranging powers during wartime by legislation such as the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 and the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939.
Emergency powers:
The use of emergency powers today is set out in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. Under section 1(1) of the act, an emergency can include war (or terrorism) which threatens serious damage to the security of the UK, but can also include anything which threatens serious damage to human welfare or the environment in the UK.
The Civil Contingencies Act allows the government to make emergency regulations when an emergency has occurred, is occurring or is about to occur. More information on the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 can be found in section 1 of the House of Commons Library briefing Brexit: contingency planning and powers.
Defence is a reserved matter. This means that it remains the responsibility of the UK Parliament alone. Commons Library briefing Reserved matters in the United Kingdom explains which matters remain “reserved” to Westminster concerning Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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