National service: Sunak's marching orders?

After 14 years of shambolic rule and one of the worst campaign launches ever, the Tories have played their "last moth-eaten card", said Polly Toynbee in The Guardian. Rishi Sunak has pledged that, if re-elected, he would bring back national service, last seen in 1960. 

This "decrepit" notion was beloved of the now long-departed "Sir Bufton Tuftons" in the Commons. "It's that never-ending Tory cry of youth hate: cut their hair, square-bash some discipline into them, bring back the lash!" 

Under Sunak's plans, all 18-year-olds would be forced to either serve for a year in the Armed Forces or UK Cyber Defence, or to spend one weekend a month volunteering for organisations such as the NHS and fire service. 

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Most sensible people have seen this pledge for what it is, said Ryan Coogan in The Independent: a cynical ploy to try to claw back some of the elderly and right-wing voters who have ditched the Tories. What's next? "Bringing back hanging?" 

A good idea?

It is "a desperate, last-minute election gimmick", said Simon Jenkins in The Guardian. "But that does not make it a bad idea." 

Around 80 countries currently operate some form of national service, including progressive democracies such as France and Denmark. In an increasingly fragmented world where teens spend hours in a social media "bubble", civic schemes can help broaden young people's experiences, give them real-world skills and build camaraderie. 

As for the military part, it wouldn't be "the miserable existence imposed on all young men in conscription years past", said Elisabeth Braw in the Daily Mail. In Norway, which has operated a similar model for over three decades, only the keenest and most suitable 18-year-olds, fewer than 20%, are selected for military service. (In the UK, it will be under 5%.) 

That makes the process "hyper-competitive" – the equivalent of getting into Oxbridge. Many conscripts turn professional. Our Armed Forces are "overstretched and plagued by recruitment shortfalls". National service will ensure that they "get the best possible soldiers".

Or a 'fantasy'

Haven't young people like me sacrificed enough, asked Sam Bidwell in The Spectator. We've "already done our fair share of national service" – four years ago, when we gave up "the best years of our lives to protect the elderly from Covid". Today we still suffer with "sky-high house prices, crippling student debt, and a historically high tax burden". Now Sunak wants to conscript us into plugging the gaps in our public services? 

The whole plan is, "let's use a good 1950s word – cobblers", said Andrew Marr in The New Statesman. Not because it doesn't have merit, but because it was clearly designed to grab headlines and shore up the core vote. It hasn't been properly costed; Army chiefs are dubious; and the Tories can't answer basic questions like what sanctions there would be for refuseniks. 

Sadly, like stopping the boats and banning smoking, national service is a not a policy, it's a "fantasy".