AIBU to think no one agrees with conscription. Does Rushi want to loose the election? This feels like a threat not and election promise?

[Catchlock]

This has been popping up on my SM overnight. I feel like Rushinis doing his best to throw this election.

Who exactly thinks Conscription is a good idea and how would it work??

Christ on a bike.

Spend the NS money on incentives to build quality apprenticeships not this mental idea

The
Man has lost
His
Mind

I can't decide

If ▪️he wants
To throw the
Election
▪️ he wants more army recruits for potential war
▪️he has actually lost his mind

Because a lot of young men (it's mostly men) join up because of poor opportunities and life limitations. They are stuck in bad housing, or can't get a good job, or contemporaries are getting into crime and drugs. It's a support mechanism, you get training, discipline, regular pay, often the chance to travel, to widen horizons.
They're not effectively supported on leaving, so replicating that is hard, especially if military experiences have had a negative impact on mental health.

Why would Labour respond? It’s a mad campaigning sound bite, not something that’s about to happen. Best if they ignore it.

Christ on a bike.

Spend the NS money on incentives to build quality apprenticeships not this mental idea

The
Man has lost
His
Mind

I can't decide

If ▪️he wants
To throw the
Election
▪️ he wants more army recruits for potential war
▪️he has actually lost his mind

And the ones who aren't have usually been dragged up by addicted parents or the care system. And very often it's a multi generation problem.
The Grandparents were messed up, they messed up the parents and the cycle goes on.

Money would be much better used to improve their prospects. Providing councilling, providing opportunities, not having people addicted to methadone for years, more drug rehabilitation places.

60%? So not much more than half, then?
I know what you mean about the type of person this is meant to appeal to, but it’s lazy to just cite their age.

This. I'm getting a bit tired of the knee jerk 'My Tarquin is so busy training as a vet and playing cricket for county, how can he possibly find time for NS?'

Tarquin isn't the one this policy is aimed at. It's the kids getting dragged into lives of bedrot, criminality and antisocial behaviour who may actually benefit from something like this. It might actually change their lives. The devil will be in the detail of course. But the knee jerk negative reaction is irritating.

But to return to the thread point - I'd like to see more people generally volunteering but they need to deal with the underlying bureaucracy which puts people off.

So why is it aimed at ‘all 18 year olds’ then? Rather than using the money to actually do something useful for the more disadvantaged kids?

They don't want to win. They are saying they will come for our children if we vote for them.

I was feeling dubious of voting Labour for the first time ever. This has now made me do whatever it takes to keep the Tories out of power. Which means voting Labour. My kids are at uni already but many of my friends have younger kids. So no way.

A lot of that is to do with issues they had before joining up, ie kids who've joined to escape abuse at home or kids who've been through the care system.
Then their MH being screwed by things they have been exposed to in active service.

Military service is not the answer and I'm 90% certain the Tories just don't want to win this election.

Every announcement in the last few weeks has been a policy that won't ever happen, to solve a problem that only exists in the minds of the nastiest section of society, who the Tories obviously think are their core voters.

My son wouldn't pass the medical for the military,as he ,s an insulin dependent diabetic,so im.guessing he couldn't be conscripted either.

We're probably going to have to increase the size of the army before too long if Putin keeps being a belligerent twat. This would be a step towards it I guess. I don't love the idea but it works ok in other countries.

I'd be in favour of gammon service as well - get them away from their computer keyboards doing something positive for the community and being more active, the reform vote would disappear ;)

i agree - is sunak a plant by🤔 labour???

It really sounds like he's trying to lose this election, which makes me suspicious.
There's no way anyone could think conscription is a good idea/would be a vote winner.

me neither. i get fed up with the constant boomer bashing.

This. There is some crazy scaremongering on this thread, with people panicking about a child being sent to war or about their child with special needs being made to do it. Clearly that’s not the case!

I’ve spent a lot of time with teenagers and people in their early 20s and the situation isn’t great. Many of them are directionless and stuck, and could absolutely benefit from some sense of community and direction.

people saying the tories want to lose are extremely childish and silly - of course they don’t. It’s possible for people to think this is a good idea - I do. I would be fine with my children doing this, because it’s about work ethic and training, not about actually going into battle. There are plenty countries where it works extremely well.

Btw this policy is vastly more sensible than enabling 16 year olds to vote!

I think a lot of posters here haven’t looked at what’s actually proposed, 30,000 military places for those who want that, the rest being one weekend a month in a community setting. Not boot camps with guns for all.
Although having worked in schools for 20 years I can’t see how this could be enforced, those who would probably benefit greatly are probably those who spend their school days avoiding doing anything they don’t want to do , or just not turning up

Alternatively, conscripted Israeli women - at least one of whom was her first night at the base - were kidnapped and taken hostage.

No , but the military bit is an option, not compulsory.

He's trying to win back a few voters from Reform. It's a policy designed to appeal to voters who never had to do National Service themselves but are happy to inflict it on today's young people.

If there were any young people left who might have considered voting Conservative, there won't be now.

They’d be better off implementing a 2 pathway education system at 15 than bloody national service. Those willing and/ or able stick to the current system. Those who aren’t give them opportunities to learn a skill whilst teaching basic maths and English. All we have at the moment is a load of kids sitting in an exam hall feeling like a failure because they don’t understand algebra. Teach them about the environment, construction, conservation give them a passion and direction. We’ve got so many messed up young adults because they’ve been sat in school since they were 4 and then given a set of results at 16 that ultimately show they’ve failed.

I am only ok with the idea cos my home country has conscription (its even stricter than israel). I married a brit too and don't have kids yet (ttc with difficulty) and would be ok with my child serving as I always thought they would serve anyway.

I am 31 and would be the minority in my age group, apparently the oldies agree with it according to a yougov poll!

I also would never vote tory as I married dh when he was a masters student and getting my visa was a PITA and the tories are just generally dreadful. Voting lib dem (though a green party member) as they are more likely than greens to win in my constituency and I don't like labour (though obviously prefer them over the tories)..