Mandatory National Service for 18 yr olds Sunak decrees

[Heavenssakes]

How do you feel about mandatory National Service for 18 year olds - Sunak says he will introduce it if he wins election.

This is so not what I want for my DC, nor something they want to do. 1 years military service, when they have worked hard towards getting into Uni, and developing a career?

It's like steppng back into the 1950s.

Only saving grace, I can't imagine the forces wanting or being able to deal with thousands of press-ganged kids.

I fear for Sunak's sanity.

https://news.sky.com/story/sunak-says-he-will-bring-back-national-service-if-tories-win-general-election-13143184

Interesting thread with some insights

https://x.com/mattholehouse/status/1794474262872445280

As someone points out, it won't happen in NI!

How is starmer worse?

No I don’t agree with it, staying on in education till 18, then 18-19 NS? Then 3 years doing a degree? Certainly shouldn’t be mandatory, no point in having people there that don’t want to do it, complete waste of time. This won’t win votes, back to the drawing board Rishi.

Would make much more sense just to introduce the volunteering part to those in year 8/9 to do the required hours within school time with proper supervision and guidance before GCSE’s - would also make more of an impression as 12/13/14 year olds are very different to 18 year olds and would likely benefit more in the long term.

I don’t agree with the idea at all but if they did do it they need to rethink

My DS had to do volunteering for his bronze Duke of Edinburgh award. He was really against it and it took loads of prompting and reminding him to get his arse in gear and find something to do. Lots of eye rolling and moaning etc. He ended up working in a respite centre for severely disabled children. As a direct result he still works there now when he's home from uni (he is paid to work there now) and he chose a degree in healthcare because he was so inspired by what he learnt and saw at the centre. Even reluctant volunteers can get something out of it.

If this goes ahead, which it won’t, it will be more pressure on the voluntary sector to provide placements very cheap or for free.

This government treats the voluntary sector like crap.

Guilty of posting without having read anything but if it's being offered instead of straddling YP with massive student debt for mickey mouse degrees then maybe there's some mileage in it?

I guess with new the lifelong learning policies YP will no longer be tied to fitting to the trad educational system and fitting it in a around.

Will it also apply to all public service professionals? NHS? Free education in return for x number of years in service?

Going against the grain here, but I actually like the sound of that 😬

Seeing those young Israeli girl soldiers made me think how awful it would be to send young people into national service and into war. Their poor families.

Next week. Bring back capital punishment. Welcome to the ill considered policies of a dying Tory party.

Organising volunteers (which they wouldn't be) is hard enough with enforcing it. It is chaos and mayhem even with the willing. The work all ends up on the managing organisation and makes their jobs so much harder.

lol! Even the military don't want this! 🤣

Conscripts are a PITA because they don't really care like someone who chose to sign up.

That is kind of the point though, there is already a scheme for volunteering/civil responsibility. Encourage don't force. Fund schools to use this scheme. Stop making up new uncosted ones.

The military option will be paid.

No, don’t agree with it. Some 18 year olds have a plan and are ambitious and hard working. How is it beneficial to these teens ( or anyone else) to delay them going to university for a year when they already know they want to study medicine, nursing, engineering etc etc. Even ‘choosing’ the monthly voluntary work would impact them because it limits their ability to do part time work around their studies. It is potentially beneficial for those 18 year olds who have no idea what they want to do and lack direction. But it should be a choice/ option that they can consider, not something that is forced on them.

A month of public service before kids head off to university doesn’t sound at all bad to me.

This is great as I think it finally will stop my parents voting conservative! My dad just missed National service by months and was very grateful-he has been dreading it. The last thing he’d want is for his grandchildren to be signed up for it.

Go, Rishi!

I once switched NHS trusts when I was a nurse. I spent more than 25 days sitting on my arse (on full pay) completing, or just simply waiting to complete, mandatory training before I could see a patient. I imagine similar organisations would be the same.

I think the tories really do want to lose this election and are desperate to make sure

That's only 30 000 young people.

They just said no one will be punished if they refuse to do it.... so it's not technically mandatory then! Pandering to a certain generation I believe!

So, they are saying that young people can join the army for a year, or do some volunteering every month for a weekend, but they don’t have to? Is that the plan?!

@howshouldibehave looks like it. It just popped up on my news that no one will be punished if they refuse... so 🤷🏼‍♀️

As none of us know the finite detail, I am not sure how you want me to respond to that?

@howshouldibehave almost like they can't make up their mind!

LoudSnoringDog · Yesterday 22:22
At this point now I believe that Sunak is doing all he can to make the Tories unelectable. This can be the only explanation for this fuckwittery”

Seriously beginning to think you may be right. “If I’m going, I’m dragging you bastards down with me”. Otherwise, inexplicable.