The reaction to National Service on here

[MaryMaryVeryContrary]

Many European countries (including Scandinavian countries) have NS. Are they ‘ridiculous’? Or are their much-coveted-by-Mumsnet-users communities better because of their sense of individual responsibility and contribution?

If 24 days (that’s how long it would be in total) of delivering prescriptions or volunteering as a hospital guide has you talking about human rights violations and Nazi Germany, then it’s very clear that you’re so pampered a bit of NS would do you good.

Everyone on here expects the world in terms of a ’village’, generous benefits, a caring society, but wants to do fuck all to contribute to it and think the notion of them having to do ANYTHING for anyone else is insane.

It’s nuts!

Yes, they will give contracts to their mates who will make a lot of money out of organising 18 year olds to work for nothing. There is huge potential for profiteering and exploitation.

This is the govt that stopped housing benefit for under 22 year olds and had to reinstate it for care leavers because of the catastrophic impact it had on them.

If they really wanted to do this they'd introduce a well designed scheme as a trial and then gradually increase the number of places available.

Rent is dictated by the price of housing. People do not rent if the rent doesn't pay for their mortgage. It sounds lower because of inflation. The salaries were also lower. But yes, the golden era for council housing being built was in 50-ties

What? No it’s not. I’m in Scandinavia. And it’s not a brutal necessity, not sure what you are on about tbh. It’s about everybody needing to help out. Most people can contribute with something. I know where I will be stationed if there is a war, at my nursery. You can’t just take if you want a working society.

😂😂😂

They really weren’t

I paid 75% of my salary on rent

The places were shit holes because landlords knew that if you they rented to you they couldn’t get you out. So why spend money on the place as they could easily rent the place out as it was take it or leave it. The next in the queue would have ot
Council houses were freely available if you didn’t mind going to a really rough or unsafe area.

Friend chose 3 places near her which weren’t exactly top notch areas and the least wait time was approximately 8 years
One area was 23 years

That is biggest problem I have with this you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours , you most untrusty band of scams we've ever had .

100% agree, if it hadn't of come out a tories mouth everyone would be praising the idea.

as with any new initiatives. The fact is that NATO secretary and admiral said that the war with Russian is not a question if it happen but when it happen. And we need people to support communities in case of bombarding.

I doubt that very much. Mandatory enforced unpaid work is not a vote winner, no matter which colour flag you fly.

Rents are now a far higher % of household income than in the 60s and 70s. It's not about inflation.

Labour have come up with many hare brained ideas in the past and I have been equally as vocal. Nothing quite like this though.

It's a stupid idea whoever's mouth it comes out of.

Just with the tories, you have to assume they are doing it to benefit their rich mates as well.

How would spunking a load of cash on 30,000 unwilling NEETs who the military don't want assist with this?

Read what Yalta above written. You are wrong

Personally, I would not disturb the life of 18 years old but include it as a subject in secondary schools - 1h per week.

And that is how it functioned/ functiones in many countries.

Everybody needs training in first aid, and many useful skills

I’m so sick of the notion that all young people are ‘selfish’ and ‘entitled’ and ‘snowflakes’. It smacks of adultism (not to mention hypocrisy!)

This.

I've read the proposals it takes no account that young people can be in vastly different places - young carers/parents/full time working and most I know full time studying and p/t working if not volunteering already but not in fields mentioned so far.

Like Brexit there's also a lot of fill in the blanks. Posters insisting travel costs will be paid for volunteering with no idea who - it will just magically happen as will places - nothing been said so far - that military places are for neets when they said they want those places to go to best - there's headline saying parents will be fine/caution if their adult child doesn't comply then headlines saying no they won't - my 18 year old is in different part of UK at uni - military don't seem keen not sure rest of services mention are either.

It smack of punishing 18 year olds for going round being young at people.

Which is an entirely different proposal to the one made by the government.

And that's important, because the proposals aren't just useless, but actively harmful. They'd waste resources, both financial and human, that then aren't available elsewhere. That's bad at the best of times, but it's worse when we're in a position where Russia have already attacked us.

They don't want the neets - the military slots are supposed to be for the more motivated and bright students and only section where payments been suggested.

So how that would affect uni intakes, people who'd normally join services anyway at 18 after A-levels - or people doing apprenticeships or even starting own business - I don't think even been considered - perhaps that why they want a committee to flesh out ideas later - meaning it's impossible to know what form this scheme would take before voting for it.

Typical UK example of

But how about me? Someone should compensate me!

They change the parameters of this every five minutes. Proper back of a fag packet shit, and meanwhile we need an actual defence strategy. And functioning public services.

I don’t think any of this has even been thought of.

It probably would never occur to Rishi Sunak that many 18 year olds already spend their weekends doing paid work because they need the money and would be at a massive disadvantage if they couldn’t continue to do this.

That is such rubbish. Most of my friends lived in council houses in the 60s and 70s and they were in perfectly nice areas. They are only in rough areas now because people bought the ones in the majority of areas thanks to the rent to buy scheme.

Give over. In Switzerland employers ARE compensated for national service, as they should be, and conscripts are paid (whether civil defence or military) - as they should be.

In the politest way possible, they wouldn’t want them. At least not in the country I’m from.

not entirely different. The difference is in "when" and "where". The content stays the same.

I was horrified when I read "military service" as I immediately think about military service as I know it from Poland: digging trenches, crawling in the mud in a helmet, military uniform, with a rifle in hand, etc, which from the perspective of island sounds like sheer madness for civilians to go through. Thank God it is not this...