To say NATIONAL SERVICE?! WT actual F?!

[BarbaraVineFan]

I mean...really?! Rishi really thinks that a plan to BRING BACK NATIONAL SERVICE will get the Tories back in? It's so ridiculous! Do you think he has in fact realised that he is shit at his job and it's actually a cunning plan to ensure that they are booted out?

I think the idea is to appeal to voters living in poor areas where the 'yoof' are rough around the edges and spend time drinking on parks, nicking stuff, riding mopeds, smoking weed and generally acting like little degenerates. There is a large group of older people who cannot afford to move away from their areas, and may be long term council tenants who are very afraid of these teenagers. These people may have voted labour in the past owing to more working class backgrounds.

As somebody who grew up in a very impoverished area, on a council estate, I used to hear the old boys suggest things like national service regularly. Along with other far fetched and not particularly plausible ideas around boats and immigrants and anything else that ruffled them the wrong way.

It's one of the stupidest plans I've ever heard and would likely result in being nothing more than a way for them to pass huge government contracts on to their Tory friends and siphon even more money away from places that need it. The amount it would cost to implement and enforce could fund the education children from deprived areas desperately need, but that is too sensible and won't make anybody they know any money.

All round ghastly idea.

Today’s teenagers have done their part for society by giving the best part of two years of their childhood, staying home, with distrupted schooling and social skills. I don’t think it is at all fair to ask more of them. Instead we should invest in making their, and our, future better.

Yes I agree - don't think it's in any way comparable but on the other hand do think some year groups missed out due to lockdown and COVID.
I say this as someone with a 20 year old and. 16: year old and see how much different their high school experience was with the youngest barely experiencing any trips as they all got cancelled

.and having to spend approx two years of high school isolated

Working in hospitality or retail ought to be mandatory for all. If more people had experience dealing with entitled morons they would be less likely to become entitled morons themselves.

@DdraigGoch I've worked in poorly run homeless shelters, prisons, social services. My life was threatened more times working in a call centre. Retail, hospitality and call centres are an education. And yes, make everyone do a few shifts of that.

Where we live in the US, both my children have to do approved voluntary service in order to graduate high school. I don’t think that some volunteering for teenagers is a terrible idea. Not so sure about National Service as in military service.

DD (19) prepared meals at a homeless shelter and volunteered at a nursery during her summer holidays-she obviously received training to do this. Her year did fewer hours than usually required due to the pandemic. DS (15) has yet to do his.

1. Which Tory donor will be given tax payer money to run this?
2. What happens if teens refuse?
3. Who will train the volunteers?

The Tory’s are clearly just trawling through the Telegraph comments section for policy ideas. Maybe we should all join and yell for ever more extreme policies in the hope Sunak’s shitty advisors see them?

I have no issue in general with making it easier for youngsters to volunteer as they could pick up skills which could be useful in a future career. However, I object as this announcement sounds like fag packet stuff designed to appeal to the ‘bring back hanging’! crowd.

It also feels as though they want young people to fix issues they’ve caused. I bet many of the ‘volunteers’ will be made to do social care related work.

Fucks sake.
Most teenagers I know would tell them to fuck off and rightly so.
I feel so so sorry for today's young people. So many expectations of them and so little hope.

So the NHS and Police once a month are options. Anyone who has ever administered volunteers is going to wonder where the resource for this admin is going to come from. What NHS/ police activities will be dropped to release resource or will.they be recruiting specially for these roles?
What about DBS checks? Is that service going to get extra resource?
What levelling up programmes are going to be dropped to release the funding? Because that's apparently where it's coming from.
I suspect this policy hasn't got past the back of fag packet stage.

I think they've managed to further alienate young voters; or possibly further motivate young voters to vote against... either way, I'm all for more participation at the polls, especially by our young people.

/shrug

It’s such an ill thought out, stupid idea that I agree, I thought he must be trying to make sure they don’t get reelected.

I can’t see the police or the nhs being thrilled with press ganged volunteers. It wouldn’t be fair on patients nor safe for the police. What about confidentiality for both organisations? Who is vetting who goes in? The staff don’t have the time to deal with this.

Are 18yos meant to delay work/university for this? Spending a year pretty much unpaid? Or if there is some sort of minimum payment who is funding this? Another year having to live at home when maybe their parents don’t want them at home?

Ultimately they’re adults, we wouldn’t do this to a 40yo, take away choices and freedom so why do it do an 18yo?

He's just trying to appeal to the far right because he knows he has completely lost the central ground to Labour. He is running out of options so throwing in some sound bites for the Braverman and Pritel lovers to keep them onside.

It's targeted at NEETS only. Not kids staying in education or already working. There's reasons why that cohort of youngsters aren't in higher education or training and that's not going to be solved by trying to mandate them into military service or volunteering. It's just going to waste millions of pounds in admin. Doesn't matter though as there's no change of a Tory election win

So only for the teens supported by welfare only? This is quite different and would have people voting for it.

Why are people saying young people will have to take time out of education to do this? Isn't it for anyone out of work and education?

What's the harm in a choice of national service or charitable work in principle? Some young people need structure to guide them towards a purpose. Those working/apprenticed, or in further education are already on a good path.

I think people immediately react to a suggestion like this by thinking about their own children who are already on track to do something worthwhile with their lives. But there are plenty of parents up and down the country absolutely despairing at their teenagers and young adults who are doing nothing with their life and need a bit of a kick up the backside.

It wasn't uncommon not that long ago for parents to make this same ultimatum in their own homes. My gran told my dad when he left school "you can stay at home as long you get an apprenticeship or a job, otherwise you're out on your ear." He got a good apprenticeship, worked hard, and did well for himself. He admits himself that if he had been allowed to he'd have floated about on the dole for years.

It's a fucking ridiculous idea. It's hard enough to get work experience, who is going to be managing all of this compulsory volunteering? Also, isn't community service something that is currently dolled out as a punishment when people are convicted of a crime?

I think it's a brilliant idea (and I'm not a Tory). It's one weekend a month, just for a year, doing something for the community.

Eighteen year olds will learn new things, and also enjoy the nice feeling it brings when you do things for others. It may help develop good self esteem.

The way we are heading as a nation is worrying. Self-interest, victimhood, entitlement; these are all becoming the norm.

As an eighteen year old I probably would have moaned about it but ultimately gained a lot from it, tbh.

Would Sunak want his own completing national service?

Actually I think it's a good idea, with the caveat that if the 18 year old is in university it can be put off until afterward if they want to do so, or universities accept, as standard, that school leavers may need to defer entering university until they have completed their national service.

It's not about training up soldiers necessarily, there are plenty of non combat roles which would provide really useful work experience for those wishing to take up the 1 year national service, and for those that don't - well one weekend a month of doing something for your community for one year is hardly the end of the world, and again can provide exce!lent work experience.

It should be thought of as an opportunity, rather than anything else. And I think it's paid - isn't it? So - a guaranteed job for a year, providing valuable work experience and opportunities for the future. Sounds good to me.

I think it's a great idea.

There is the option of service in the community.
if it were framed with a view to giving teenagers valuable skills and practical experience, especially for those without connections to get these things, this could be a good idea. But framing it as service won’t work; our culture has changed since attleés time and the idea of serving the country is clearly something we really don’t like. We are here to take, not to give. Our loss, perhaps

It’s also something people do voluntarily. My DC have fine voluntary work every summer since they were 14. They are not criminals. It’s really good for them but it’s not easy to organise.

My father did National Service and he deferred till 21 so he could finish his education.

DH has an ex army cousin and he has been contacted.

I think its a terrible idea. Apparently we are desperate for tax payers so we either take the young out of work/education for a year or make it impossible for them to hold down a saturday job as they have to volunteer once a moth.