In a surprising turn of events, the Tory Party took centre stage during the first full weekend of the UK general election campaign. The party proposed mandatory national service for British youths aged 18, which left a significant mark amidst the media coverage, overshadowing the Labour Party’s efforts to highlight economic issues.
The initiative, the first major policy proposition of their campaign, was announced on Saturday night as the country welcomed a bank holiday weekend. The plan encompasses drafting around 30,000 British teenagers into a 12-month paid military service selection based on their performance. Alternatively, they could offer a weekend of unpaid service every month to civil services like constructing flood barriers, assisting in fire brigade service or becoming first-line responders.
James Cleverly, the Home Secretary of UK, stated that this £2.5-billion-a-year (€2.93 billion) scheme was designed to get young British people “out of their bubbles” and help improve their skills and confidence. Despite this, opposition parties thrashed this proposal, labelling it as an “election stunt”.
Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat representative for North Shropshire, commented on the proposal during a BBC interview, likening it to a notorious Alan Partridge sketch suggesting “monkey tennis” as a TV show concept after his other ideas were declined. “I believe this shows a sheer desperation in their campaign announcements,” she remarked.
Labour criticised the proposal as “another unbacked promise” from the Tories. Labour rebutted this decision by stating, “This isn’t a plan. It’s an evaluation that could potentially add billions to government spending. This only arose because the Tories have weakened the military to its least size since Napoleon’s time.” Labour also speculated that such a plan could cost around £12.5 billion during the next parliament.
Nigel Farage, the honorary president of the Reform UK party trying to court Tory voters, belittled this national service as a “farce” targeting his own party. When asked about national service during a focus group discussion of Reform voters, Mr Farage informed Sky News presenter Trevor Philips, “they viewed it as a joke.”
The perceived weak leadership of UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak was criticised due to his reliance on focus group feedback, supposedly to help recoup the Reform vote. This comes as research from politically conservative think tank, Onwards, showed 57% of the UK population, equating to over seven in ten Tory votes, were in favour of national service.
In related news, Labour instigated a campaign against a Tory proposal to eradicate national insurance taxes for employees, taking issue with what they described as a £46 billion financial abyss caused by the proposal’s lack of proper financing.
Liz Kendall, who serves as Labour’s shadow secretary for work and pensions, issued a public letter to UK retirees warning that their pensions could be drastically threatened by this Tory initiative, as it’s primarily funded by national insurance.
Rachel Reeves of Labour, a potential first female chancellor of the exchequer if opinion polls are accurate, pledged there would be no return to austerity measures should they govern. However, when quizzed, she declined to dismiss the possibility of budget reductions.