National Service if Tories are re-elected

[MaryMaryVeryContrary]

Thoughts? 🍿

Russia launching a land invasion of the UK via the Channel Tunnel, having successfully occupied another NATO country first, is not a known unknown. It's some complete bollocks you've cooked up. It's the dictionary definition of catastrophising.

The UK needs a defence strategy predicated on the actual risks to us, not the actual risks to countries who have a land border with Russia.

If Putin had introduced LSD into the Parliamentary water supply, would we be able to tell?
Asking for a friend.

It’s reasonable, considerate, practical and realistic ideas like this that are incomprehensible to fools like Sunak and others who agree with him. They’re so shortsighted and single minded that they’s happily spend lots of time and money on fruitless ideology’s.

I do volunteer work in an animal sanctuary. We have young volunteers there who are disabled or working on their Duke of Edinburgh and they’re great. I think it’s so important to make them part of a community, encourage socialising, responsible behaviour and a strong work ethic. They’re a great bunch of teenagers. Too often the older generation are overly critical of teenagers because they don’t know any.

Well no, it will also be the problem of whatever service is tasked with enforcement as and when rural 18 year olds don't turn up.

Nothing wrong at all, but big difference between choosing and mandatory perhaps for some.

😂

Are those of us who DO know what we’re talking about allowed to disagree with you?!

Let's not forget the amount of young people who robbed bombed out homes because there was plenty of that too and black marketing . I really think it's wrong trying allege any generation was saintly and another wrong .There was lots wrong doing by any generation .
Please don't allege that any generation was saintly because you know that was not true .

As mentioned, a dictator taking over Europe for the second time and from an original position of military and economic weakness, is for the birds.

Also no need to be rude so thank you very much for your input. I will step away now.

I'm not. I think there should be a culture in this country of contribution and giving back - whatever it is. DH runs a boys' football team. I volunteer at an environmental charity, and a local heritage centre, I grow plants for a charity all year round, I sell plants for an animal charity. My FIL runs a refugee support group, a local church group for retired men and my MIL has volunteers at a food kitchen for the homeless and at the refugee support group. We also do community things with our 3 small DC eg beach litter picks.
I think everyone who can should want to put back into society. I don't understand why they don't. However, many people don't and I think to force the whole nation would be doomed to chaos and failure. It is an absolutely vast administrative nightmare. I mean look how much fuss, objection, refusal to co-operate and drama is created on MNet by parents who object to their child having to follow a basic school rule. Schools spend lots of time and money on these moaning, pathetic minnies trying to make sure basic rules are followed - multiply that by millions. Who are the people doing the checking, following up, enforcement of the incapable/ unwilling/ refusers or dodgers? What are the consequences?

If you're referencing the YouGov poll only 46% of over 65s supported compulsory military national service which is more than other groups but its hardly a stonking majority.
Also YouGov are rubbish 😂

Perhaps balance this idea with repealing the Enclosures Act?

But invasion of the UK through the Channel Tunnel with zero warning is complete bollocks you've cooked up. Everything about the idea is utterly implausible. There's not really any way round that.

Should the Tories get back in the university system will likely collapse (except for Oxbridge which will be fed almost entirely by top private boarding schools). UK tuition fees no longer pay university running costs

One possible system could be that you could pay off loan/have tuition fees paid .by undertaking national service. Fruit pickers earn over £22k a year at the moment for example

How is university funded int he Scandinavian countries? Do kids need to work to have some money to go to university as loans don't cover costs and in the current climate many parents can't or won't fund them. Do they come out of university with £50k of debt?

I don't know about funding in other countries but if we want to have the same results we needs all the elements to be equal.

My GS is currently at work, doing a long shift as he needs to save £2k by September to be able to pay for his room in the cheapest halls his university offers as his loan doesn't cover it, it would be nice if he had a bit of money for things like food as a bit of a bonus. If granny doesn't drive him up there he will also need his train fare to get there, we haven't even looked at what he needs to buy like bedding/towels/kitchen items. He needs his weekend job.

Rishi is trolling us. Bravo Rishi, I didn’t think you had it in you!

18 year olds doing 25 days of fruit picking won't make £22k.

@Iwasafool great point. Our youth owe this govt nothing - they have been let down. I hope they can grow up and change things for the generations that come after them. To feel patriotic you need to feel valued

@MrsFrisbyMouse these are all sensible, good ideas, that wouldn't cost too much- you definitely shouldn't run for Parliament!

I agree with you, but why limit it to 18 year olds who have no say in anything?? I do several volunteer roles too and I actually think that there are so many adults who have so much more to give in terms of skills and experience than simply putting in 18 year olds. You’ll know like I do that we are in a minority though and it’s always the same people who help out.

The other advantage of including older people is that you’d have more people who actually wanted to be there so it wouldn’t be seen as an imposition on young people of those who would never do it themselves… and more people for young people to learn from.

i think the message in this is muddled.. the more I think about it.

Enforced national service will be like everything else in this country. All the decent families with decent kids will be forced into it whilst the families with 14 kids who have never done a days work in their lives will be exempt due to various made up medical complaints.

So far we have locked up this generation during the lockdown causing untold damage to their mental health

We haven’t funded a mental health service that supports them in any shape or form

We deprived them of a decent education in the interim

We force them to pay nearly £50,000 for a risible degree that is extremely poor value for money

We make it impossible for them to buy a house, set up a business etc it’s too expensive.

We lumber them with the debts for the covid vaccine that didn’t benefit them at all

We force them now to be conscripted??

At what point are they going to fight back? This is obscene in my view

Unpalatably true.

Obviously it's moot because it'll never happen, but imagine the Tories get back in and take a couple of years to implement this. It starts for those turning 18 in, say, 2027. These 2009 births are the ones whose access to services as younger kids was fucked over by austerity, who missed out on Sure Start, who got into education as Gove was doing his nasty business and then had lockdown as they finished primary school. And there are people who think the rest of us are entitled to just requisition these kids labour?! Puh-lease.

I just spoke with my 18 year old and she said that the mood on social media is hilarity amongst her age group ('I've forgot my PE kit, sir') type stuff BUT she would be keen to do some volunteering herself.

The DoE scheme collapsed in Covid and has not been properly resurrected, lots of young people like my dd volunteered but most places won't take them under 18 any more, as they have to do risk assessments and also there have been scandals relating to charities so they just stopped employing under 18s on a Sat morning...

Lots of young people do volunteer and are socially minded and more are motivated, but they need the structure, payment and training not a bodge job as currently suggested.