Rishi Sunak wants to restore compulsory national service if he wins the parliamentary elections

The British Conservative Prime Minister announced, in a press release published on the evening of Saturday May 25, that he will reestablish compulsory national service for young people aged 18, in the event of his party’s victory in the legislative elections on July 4. “I will introduce a new model of national service to create a common purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country”explains Rishi Sunak in a video posted on X Sunday. This measure would unite the country while the world is “more and more uncertain”he pleads, in a world “where our democratic values ​​are threatened”.

Young people aged 18 will be able to choose “between a 12-month full-time placement in the armed forces or one weekend per month for a year of volunteering within their community”specifies the head of the British government in this video.

The electoral campaign has been in full swing since Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that the legislative elections will be held on July 4. The Labor opposition is well ahead in the polls, with a lead of around 20 points, against the conservatives, out of breath after 14 years in power. The United Kingdom had compulsory national service between 1947 and 1960: men aged 17 to 21 were then required to serve in the armed forces for 18 months.