𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The world is a volatile place at present, and some fear that a major conflict could be around the corner. Article 5 of NATO stipulates that an armed attack against one member shall be considered an attack against them all, meaning a wider conflict could be triggered by the actions of an agressor state. This is being discussed in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and China’s possible invasion of Taiwan. If the UK went to war, there is growing speculation that Brits could be conscripted, even though the Government has ruled it out. Some countries even have peacetime conscription, and research has suggested that there are benefits to it.

A House of Commons research briefing mentioned a 2019 paper— “Competitive National Service”— by Elizabeth Braw, who, when director of the defence think tank RUSI’s modern deterrence programme, discussed the merits of national service. It examined how the Scandinavian model could be adapted for Britain.

Braw “identified military, societal and personal benefits of national service,” the Parliamentary document stated, arguing that it: “provides an efficient way to build up reserve forces to support the professional forces”, “contributes to national identity and unity by serving the same national cause” and “furthers young persons’ personal development”. The expert added in another paper— “The case for national resilience training for teenagers”— that, with training, young people could play a valuable role in crisis scenarios.

Braw argued that non-weapons training would include crisis preparedness, emergency response and information literacy. The House of Commons paper also mentioned that a survey by the Resilience Imperative— an initiative launched to address unconventional and hybrid warfare— released in March this year found that 40% of people in the UK believe the country will be at war within five years and more than half thought the UK is poorly prepared for war.

In addition, more than 66% of those questioned said they feared they would be “unable to cope” during a conflict. Conservative shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said in June that the UK should emulate its NATO allies, who were increasing the size of their reserve forces.

He said: “Whilst other countries have used conscription, we remain committed to a professional, volunteer armed forces – and that means we need to make reserve service financially worthwhile. For those who already have full-time jobs and want to serve their country, the last thing we should want is for them to be clobbered by the taxman for giving up their evenings and weekends.”

In September, Defence Minister Lord Coaker said: “This Government has no current plans for compulsory military service. Since 1963, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the best way of providing for the defence of our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces which are manned by volunteers.”

The Government is focusing instead on voluntary schemes intended to give younger people experience of military life without joining the regular Armed Forces. Lord Coaker added: “Through this combination of military experience, engagement, education, skills development and voluntary service opportunities, defence is already helping more young people understand the role of the Armed Forces, experience Service life, develop valuable skills, and explore opportunities to contribute to national security and public service.”