To be baffled at Rishis National Service Plan

[frankentall]

I have never voted Tory and don't intend to start at this election. Maybe it is due to my late father who did National Service who was vehmently opposed to it, but even allowing for the idea - surely it simply isn't practical. How has he cooked up such a batshit idea?

My issue is which one of Tory cronies and donors is going to be overseeing it all and pocketing the £2.5 billion? Some one is going to profit from it, mark my words!

I know, that’s why I didn’t attribute it to them. Good idea though.

Makes me laugh that those who are Pro National service are only for it if it's other people being enlisted, and not them. The instance you suggest they give up their precious time, there's suddenly a thousand reasons why it doesn't work for them.

They’re already on it!

That’s quite the generalisation there.

Since he's never going to be in power to impliment it, who cares.

It's a desperate attempt to stop right wing nut jobs deserting the Tories for Reform.

Obviously you haven’t actually you read the plan?

Seems to work in most other countries, France, Germany etc

the french universal national service introduced by macron is only for a month and is voluntary. it is also for 15-17 year olds who would be in school anyway so it is just like a 4 week work placement. not sure about in germany google seems to suggest they are thinking of reintroducing some form of national service or conscription but at the moment don’t have any and the consensus across parties is that it wouldn’t be mandatory in any event.

100% this.
The Tories know they haven’t got a chance of getting votes from floating voters, young people or anyone who is disillusioned with their usual party e.g. Lib Dem or Labour. Other than staunch supporters of a particular party who will never change their vote, a lot of people are looking for the least worst option. And that isn’t the Tories for a lot of people.

So he’s making a last-ditch attempt to hang on to the hardcore Tory voters - largely older people who tend towards the right wing.
These are people who for decades have been responding to any reports about crime with “bring back National Service!” So at last they’re pandering to them.
All of the more cruel or regressive policies have been to please these core voters so that they don’t think the party is going “soft”.

The depleted military of today doesn’t want a vast influx of teenagers to look after, it would be massively expensive and the last thing young people need right now is a year’s delay to when they start earning. The economy and the social landscape were vastly different back in the postwar period.

How is this going to actually work in Northern Ireland ?????

I know plenty of traditional Tory and Labour voters.

Even prior to the National Service announcement, not one of the stories was planning to vote Tory this summer. Not even a former local party chairman. He’s cancelled his membership. We haven’t really had a Conservative government for the last 14 years. Its policies align more closely with Tony Blair’s (which were not really Labour) and the Democrats in the US. Sunak and Hunt seem to be actively trying to sabotage the country in every conceivable way and undermine their voter base.

Parties can resurrect. I have cousins who are very active in the grassroots Labour Party and who not only stepped back during the Corbyn years, they ceased to be party members. Traditionally, this was an irreversible decision. Even if you rejoined, you would never be trusted again. But, so many people did this that there has been some recognition that the circumstances were extreme and they have been welcomed back. If the Conservative Party HQ are sensible and stop imposing candidates on their voters, they might be able to enjoy a revival and become electable again, but I think their defeat this year will be much worse than 1997.

But this announcement along with ministers seemingly blurting out whatever comes into their heads is so depressing it probably doesn't matter what anyone said now I've disengaged and won't be voting Conservative. I assume that's what they want - to not have to do another term...

It doesn't. I had friends who did it in Germany and they just got bullied.

We already have problems with bullying and people taking their own lives in the Services - imagine how much worse it would be if kids were forced into it.