National Service if Tories are re-elected

[MaryMaryVeryContrary]

Thoughts? 🍿

Why is the government trying to increase military defence. That’s the question.

If you don’t get a choice in the end, I think I would rather my children stand a chance with training than not. Although the overall goal would be to avoid the need altogether. Unpleasant overall

You can just see it. All the privately education future med students trailing top surgeons and others trailing contacts in top companies to learn about “ procurement”.

They literally have zero talent to serve in the running of this country. This is the best they’ve got. I don’t know whether to explode, laugh or cry.

A not insignificant number of 18 year olds can't cope with university. They're not going to cope with National Service, so what do we do with them?

(Also, the army will hate this idea. They will have to train people who don't want to be there and who will only just start to really know what they're doing as they get to the end of their time. We'd actually need more career soldiers to cope with that volume of trainees.)

They aren't trying to increase anything. Rishi is floundering, a decade of failed Tory shite has got us here. He's scared even the blue pensioners won't vote for him. This is his last roll of the dice. It's not real, it's aimed at idiots with no critical thinking skills.

So I take it you never learned to socialise and haven’t contributed to your local area due to a lack of national service as a teenager?

I can’t see how anyone can vote for this, especially anyone with children or grandchildren, no matter their age. ‘Pensioners’ today are not the same as a hundred years ago.

I mean look, the comment is hyperbolic.

But we are all grown up and can say the word “shit” without being scoffed at

Although if we want to build up the Armed Forces, giving 18 year olds the option of a year's military training (no compulsion, even by the back door of having to do something else instead) might be a good idea. Give young people the option to get trained in a year rather than have to commit to five. And it could come with some benefits (maybe afterwards your university fees could be paid by the government or something?) I'd be in favour of that.

Oh fuck yes, we really are lucky we've not had widespread youth riots over the last few years.

On top of that we'll also teach some of them how to use a gun.....what could possibly go wrong?🤔

This! Along with anybody on any befits, anybody who uses the NHS , anybody who cares about the environment they have now lost pretty much any vote from all young people along with parents and grand parents of young people.

Buyt hey they know what a woman is 🙄🙄😂😂

I’m asking. Years ago it didn’t.

I can't imagine any parent wanting their child to do national service but if other countries are implementing it or at least considering it (including Germany and France) what will we do if war breaks out and they all have trained their young men ready and we have not done that? I mean surely we would be sitting ducks with our tiny army.

You are not classed as a boomer, you are generation X. I sat in a hall in Bristol a year later than you and am also Generation X and had a very different experience to you as was state educated at a Grammar school , there were 2 in Bristol in 1980. A lot of my peers went to university but a large chunk didn’t and most people didn’t struggle to get work so my experience was very different to you in the same city at the same time.

Bristol absolutely did have a shit education system though at the time and has been well known for it for years though I think it has improved now. The grammar school I was at had its catchment area manipulated to exclude children from St. Paul’s but included children from places like Clifton, Redland and stretched up to Stoke Bishop and Sneyd Park. I was in the latter group which we lived in as my Dad had benefitted from a scholarship to one of the private schools . He nearly didn’t go as my grandparents couldn’t afford the uniform but they sold things so he could go and that was a game changer for him.

My Dad did do National Service . He died a couple of years about it but he wasn’t a huge fan of it and I don’t think it would appeal to him if he was still alive. He was always a bit pissed off that his friend who was a few years younger than him didn’t have to do it for some reason.

Sunak is sounding a bit desperate now.

My OH did national service in Germany and said it was the making of him. The nice thing is that basically everyone did it so it was a great leveller and community building exercise. You didn't have to choose the armed forces either, he worked in a hospital. We're in our 30's.

However, my current opinion of politicians is that they promise and don't deliver, so anything anyone is saying now feels unlikely to actually come to fruition. I'll vote, because I always do, but I'm pretty low on hope that either party are capable of actually fixing the country.

Over my dead body are my kids going to war. It’s not like year’s ago when there was loyalty to your country, youngsters know politicians don’t give a fuck about them. I didn’t bring up my two alone with blood, sweat and tears for them to be sent as fodder. Blow the whole world up if that’s what governments want but leave my kids out of it.

Several countries across Europe still have conscription, including Sweden, Norway and Finland - typically 1-2 years, but compulsory at age 18 (later for university students). Some also have voluntary national service, requiring only three months of basic military training. I don’t think similar options are a bad idea, but l agree that Sunak is just blowing hot air.

An alternative idea

Instead of National Service, people get called up to work a month in a supermarket or a large shop. Those who work or worked in the past 5 years in retail are exempt. Head office retail - no.

It will make people understand that retail is hard work and how they like it being given abuse as their paper has gone up 5p.

I can tell those customers who have not worked in retail. I have asked a few people “Have you ever worked in retail?” when they are being horrible and abusive. No is always the answer. Then say until you have worked in retail, then you have no idea of hard it is.

From the party that has poured shit into our rivers and seas and destroyed and hollowed our public institutions and who will fuck off to California with his billionaire's money once he loses. Time to bring the milashakes back !

I completely understand your need to protect your children but if we are going to end up at war and we have no army to at least fight our corner your children (and you and me and everyone else on here) will likely end up dead anyway as we will be defenceless. I understand it's a horrible option but is it the least horrible option? If you knew you were going to be attacked would you rather sit helpless or have training and be prepared because those might be the choices for you and your children (and everyone else too). I agree it's terrifying and obviously nobody wants war or the need for the national service. However having watched lots of documentaries on world war 2 and how stronger prepared countries (Germany) swept through weaker and unprepared countries it would be utterly terrifying. Surely better to be prepared/trained and not need it hopefully than to do nothing. Obviously Germany would not be the worry nowadays but Russia/China.

I think this is why it will be mandatory.Our dcs know that previous propaganda was all BS,they would need to be forced into the army.

My eldest ds has severe disabilities but my younger dds have autism (they cope/mask well). I don't think having SEN will prevent recruitment,I can see that they would look at it case by case because there are varying degrees of SEN.

I'm totally against it,the whole idea is vile.

Of course the very people who are affected by this policy 16/17 yo cannot vote
most parents and gparents surely would not support this

Sorry that was a typo, meant to say older as well as younger. I'm massively against this.

*‘My DS would love the cyber security aspect of it but he is autistic so they prob won’t allow him to do it anyway, as you can’t join the forces if you’re autistic.

We have had it easy in this country for years. People on here seem a bit naive about what goes on in the rest of the world.’*

@MrsBuntyS - Nice try, suggesting other people send their kids, whilst claiming yours should be exempt. I’m sure they could find something for him to do. Or maybe you could do it in his place?

But this was at a time when wars were fought on land, by foot mainly.In a nuclear age surely it would be better to fund free nuclear engineering degrees and have the most tech savvy generation.