When you think about some of the problems in todays society being caused by youth with too much time on their hands, forming gangs, carrying weapons, participating in postcode/turf wars, national service doesn't seem a million miles away and just seems a way to channel those negative urges into something more positive. (Ditto re the rioters, not necessarily the same group of people as the gangs, with a seek and destroy, carry off some spoils mentality).
I am coming round to the idea that society is failing the "youth of today" individuals in much the same way as an indulgent parent fails their toddler by not establishing and enforcing boundaries at the right time in their life to set the pattern.
The major complaint seems to be "there's nothing for us, no suitable jobs, nothing but a life on benefits" so I would be in favour of national service as a compulsory option for those unable/unwilling to get into higher education or work after they leave school. Those searching for work would be able to leave national service if they found a job but would be recalled straight away if they lost their job, employers would be obliged to notify the relevant authority and if you had no recourse to any other state funding/benefits until you had completed your 2 years national service you'd have to go back into it or suffer financially.
There has to be some form of stability in people's lives throughout a tricky period of time in their late teenage years and national service could provide this. There could be a "peace corps" option that carried out community service work too. National "Service" doesn't need to be military service but it does need to be disciplined training, early starts and a full day, a rota of day shifts/weekend shifts/night shifts to the same level as a full working week and with paid holidays just like being in a real job.
Unfortunately the thing is that in order for it to have any chance of making a difference it needs to be made compulsory and have all the punishments associated with going AWOL that apply in the regular forces. It needs to be cumulative so that if you go missing/get sacked you just delay your completion date. It needs to have childcare resources allocated such that girls who get pregnant don't have a "get out of national service free" card to play and still have to complete a full 2 years with "maternity leave" not counting towards the 2 years.
Too many people "know their rights" but won't accept that rights go hand in hand with responsibilities.
Oh, and while we are on the subject of girls getting pregnant, why can't the government spend money on rewarding the relevant demographic group for not getting pregnant each year rather than paying the bill once they are pregnant. Contraception is free and a bonus payment on your birthday each year for not having got pregnant would surely be an incentive ? Even if you aleady have a child or 2, if you are identified as being in the group of girls/women likely to have more pregnancies, entirely state funded children, this could still act as an incentive.
With the benefit of hindsight, in the boom years Labour were concerned with getting re-elected so they couldn't consider implementing radical reforms and wasted the chance use the money they did have tackling the problem, instead funding plenty of other "warm, fuzzy, touchy, feely" schemes which, with some exceptions, I think we can all now see have not done anything to tackle the overall problem and I'm guessing there is no money to fund such a radical scheme as properly funded, 21st century style, UK national service.
Any solution to the UK'S current problems is going to be unpalatable to a lot of the human rights at all costs section of society but if the coalition can pull it off we could be a grateful electorate all round.