If the Conservative Party wins the July 4 national election, it will impose mandatory national service for 18-year-olds, which will involve either military or community service, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Sunday.
According to Sunak, young adults will have the option of signing up for one of 30,000 spots to serve a year in the armed forces or volunteering one weekend a month for a year.
The declaration came after Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, stated on Saturday that he supported giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote.
Sunak’s Conservatives lag Labour by a wide margin in opinion polls, which have shown little change in fortunes for the prime minister since his surprise election call last Wednesday.
“Britain today faces a future that is more dangerous and more divided. There’s no doubt that our democratic values are under threat. That is why we will introduce a bold new model of national service for 18-year-olds,” Sunak said in a statement.
The Conservative Party said the proposal would be funded by cracking down on tax avoidance and evasion, and by diverting money from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which existed to reduce regional economic inequality.
Labour politicians derided the announcement.
“The national service we need from our young people is to vote for change on the 4th of July,” said Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester.
Without giving any more information, Interior Minister James Cleverly told broadcasters that people would be forced to perform mandatory service even though there would be no legal repercussions for failing to do so.
When questioned by the BBC about whether the Conservative Party’s liberal heritage was violated by requiring adults to volunteer, Cleverly responded, “We force people to do things all the time.”
He gave the example of making education or training mandatory for teenagers up until the age of 18.
