Is Sunak's plan for national service feasible?

By Harry Fremantle

Sunak’s proposal has been controversial, to say the least (Image: Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak has called for a general election on July 4. Going into the election, Keir Starmer’s Labour are the favourites with Labour taking victories in many of the polls that have been published.

To ensure votes, Rishi Sunak must come up with ideas that can be implemented through parliament should he retain his role as Prime Minister.

His promises, however, have caused quite a stir in the country.

Sunak has promised that should he win the general election on July 4th, he would introduce national service in the UK.

The reasoning behind this idea is that people at 18 do not offer much to society, and to get recently turned adults into learning new skills for the future.

This policy has not gone down well with the opposition with Keir Starmer calling the idea of national service desperate saying: "You've seen that again over the past few days, the desperation of this national service policy, a sort of teenage Dad's Army, paid for, I kid you not, by cancelling levelling up funding and money from tax avoidance that we would use to invest in our NHS.

"I think they are rummaging around in the toy box to try and find any plan that they can throw on the table. I don't think it'll work."

Given the impact this would have on young people, it is important to get their voices heard about this new policy Sunak will promise should he be voted Prime Minister once more.

A student at City of Glasgow College said: “I think the whole idea is ridiculous they are going back to what happened decades ago.”

Another stated: “I think it will benefit only a small amount of people and will only benefit a small number of Tories.”

Another student followed this up saying: “I think that it’s an absolute clown show.”