UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has announced plans to reintroduce national service should the Conservative party retain power in the general election. Under Sunak’s proposed scheme, 18-year-olds would either spend a year in the military or one weekend out of every four volunteering.
The scheme is intended to “foster a culture of service”, which Sunak said would make society “more cohesive”. But this is a way of asking even more from young people who will have already suffered disruption to their education and social development as a result of the pandemic, some of whom have seen increased family hardship from the cost of living crisis and a lack of support due to widespread cuts in youth services.
