What Is Sunak’s National Service Pledge And Will It Work? 

My Dad was born in 1946, so missed out on National Service. My grandparents, both of whom served in WW2, were delighted he wouldn't have to do it. It's a myth that everyone looks back upon National Service with nostalgia.

As I saw someone say, this election is now a choice between Labour and forced labour.

As a 25 year old who relied on the money gained from my waitressing job at 18 to get me through university, I fear that national service would have made it almost impossible for me to hold down a job. I volunteer as much as I can do but this isn’t ideal at all for most.

National service appealing to people who never had to do it.

Fundamentally, the people they're asking to give service to the country don't owe that. We've had a consistent reduction of rights and privileges [free movement, declining public services], had our tuition fees increased and had student loans with ridiculous interest rates imposed [after being told a university degree is the only way to be successful and independent], been sneered at, ignored, patronised, and had causes we passionately believe in trampled into political footballs or culture war wedges. Frankly, it doesn't feel like we're the ones who should be doing national service.

Have anyone thought up introducing national service for pensioners? Sympathetically administered it could be a helpful way of preparing people entering retirement to adapt to a change in life style and enable them to make use of their skills and experience in ways that contribute to the community.

Maybe they should force Alister and Rory to spend their weekends making coffees for nhs staff

Sorry Rory and Alastair, the concept of "mandatory volunteering" is odious and amounts to compelling labour without paying for it. Drooling over the ability to replace military and services personnel with unpaid volunteers demonstrates how degraded out national services are, and if the solution isnt making them attractive and interesting to people, but forcing the young to do it on pain of some kind of sanction is crazy to me. Im 37 so it wouldn't affect me personally, but if it were me, I would hate every second of it and remember that for the rest of my life.

Compulsory national service is not a “good idea”. My daughters have been volunteering since the age of 14, first encouraged by school (for extra credits and as part of coursework) and also as part of the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, after which they continued even after getting the gold award, helping in the community and they also volunteer now they are adults. And the Tories want to force them to do even more? This whole “young people don’t do enough” on the one side of the people supporting it is probably what they all really think. On the other side the Ministers are saying young people want to help. They can and do already and the infrastructure exists so why do we have to pay £2.5 Bn to Group 4 or whichever company slipped the bung up this time? Finally, we have 75,000 soldiers. There are 10x as many 18 year olds. How the F is that going to work??

My uncle actually did National Service in the early 1950s. This policy just made him chuckle in the way that only someone of that age can.

Sunak, hands off my bloody grandkids!! Vote Labour to stop this nonsense before it starts.

Public schools must lose their charitable status. They must pay VAT. Students' parents can well afford to pay.

Unpaid compulsory volunteering ? Seems a bit odd to me . Working for nothing should be truly on a voluntary basis

1960 I worked the GWR Steam Engines with my Driver a rear guard at Dunkirk. My Uncles fought everywhere. We heard from ex-NS men of the grim, boring, waste of time NS. I was happy to miss it. My father complained NS turned men into cynical skivers. Military spending has fallen from 2.5% under Labour to 2% or less under Tories so the US military recently rated the UK military as no longer First rate. I suspect this distraction gimmick is, in part, designed to cover this over.

How about they require every able bodied person over age 16 to put in 10 to 20 days of unpaid labour per year like they did in the Middle Ages? If this National Service is so beneficial, why not get everyone into it? Why not let lonely pensioners benefit from working for free? Come on Rory and Alistar, there are plenty of food banks open for you and your mates to serve in!

Isn't Sunak a generation too late to argue for National Service. Retired people today still count their lucky stars for missing out by just days or weeks. Does he really think retired folk are malicious?

My brother in law did National Service in the mid 1950s and was one of those sent out to Christmas Island to witness the nuclear tests. No protection was given to them and subsequently, hundreds of them have died prematurely; even some of their offspring have. NS cannot be done on the cheap; it needs huge resources and the logistical requirements needed for it are enormous. This is not the 1950s.

What on earth was Sunak doing wasting his time in Belfast anyway? None of the three main parties field candidates in Northern Ireland.

A dreadful policy idea. Some need to work weekends, some need to rest if already in full time employment, and some want to do their own thing. It also sounds like something the children of the wealthy will have a better time of it, or find a way to get out of it.

Why don't we just make everyone work with no pay? Then it would be equal. In fact, we could bring down that NHS waiting list, by mandating that people volunteer their time to help out the NHS. What's that? That would be immoral? Huh.

I don't see the positives at all in forcing young people to 'volunteer' when that really means undertake forced free labour. It was a stupid idea when the Tories tried using volunteering to replace the services they destroyed during the Austerity era, it's a stupid idea now. This is the toughest it's ever been to be a young adult since the war, the financial pressures on them are way worse than you ever knew at your age, and you blithely sit there saying it would be good to force them to work for free on top of that? Read the details of what Sunak proposed, compare it to the definitions in the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and Article 4 of the European Convention, have a think and get a grip.

Perhaps they should compulsory make Over 65's do one weekend a month as well.........."oh no they vote for us"……...."hit the young they don't vote for us"......disgusting!

I do voluntary work. I've had the great displeasure of dealing with reluctant, dragged along kids of other volunteers and they're awful to work with. I don't want a constant influx of young people who don't want to be there ruining it for those of us who enjoy what we do.

If you do National Service, when you come out you will impress employers and be first in line for zero-hour contracts or have your choice of minimum wage jobs.

Do you think the big names of the Conservative party are leaving, simply because a life outside of Parliament is more lucrative and less hard work than being in opposition for five years? And does it betray their actual motives for being in Politics in the first place?

Isn't compulsory volunteering an oxymoron?

National Service? Conscription and indentured servitude more like. A year in the military will do nothing except waste money, and dilute focus. And after that, getting a job with a zero hour contract. All that's missing are the chains...

If the government wants to improve the education and engagement of our youth then they should put that - what was it they were mentioning, £2.5bn a year? - towards reversing the atrocious impact of austerity on our tertiary education sector rather than paying some kids to take a gap year interning for GCHQ.

The problem with you two getting all starry eyed over this proposed calling up of 18 year olds is the firstly the Forces don’t want them, and have out and said so; secondly where is the £2 billion plus costs going to come from and thirdly it works in the Nordic countries because they have brought it in over a number of years, they are very social democratic countries in a way we aren’t and they have borders with Russia or are very close to the Russian border and their societies are extremely aware of that fact. It’s pure dog whistling by Sunak. I’m 76 and there’s no way I want my grandchildren sucked into this nonsense. People who instinctively think this is a good idea need to make a cup of tea, sit down and actually think this through!

I am surprised by your comments on the proposed National Service Idea. (1) The comparison to the Nordic's military service is false, as Rory says these countries are only drafting a small percentage of each age group to military service, which can be replaced with a non-military option for consciencious objectors. The newly proposed National service claims to be covering the whole age group, not just a small percentage. (2) If one wanted to bring in a National Service, not motivated by the need for military reserves, but for societal cohesion and a sense of duty, it would have to be including everybody (so probably also addressing older people, at least a discussion about a phase-in would be required) and it would have to start by setting military and non-military service on equal footing. So people get paid for their work, not comparing full-time, paid, military service with non-voluntary volunteering over the weekend. A truly universal national service could indeed bring societal cohesion... but introducing it suffers from the "all the older generations didn't have to do it and now we start with the young people problem". I personally have done non-military service in Germany in the early 2000s, where we were asked for the consciencious objection at muster, leading to the weird situation that of those not objecting only a small percentage actually had to do military service, while a large proportion of consciencious objectors was doing non-military social service (on top of the gender question). So from personal experience I can confirm that while I did learn useful new skills and an appreciation for old people, I did hate being forced to do the social work, and it did not lead to any bigger societal understanding or engagement.

Compulsory volunteering isn’t volunteering it’s slave labour

The children yearn for the trenches

Suella Braverman GB News attended a student demo and the demonstrates wouldn't respond to her provocative questions. Suggests the young are very well clued up as to how social media works.

I have just registered for as an overseas voter. 1st time in over 20years I can vote…….seems to me Starmer is the adult in the room after changing the Labour Party, I’m sure he will have a better government than the last chaos.

I'm sorry but I really feel the only people they should be talking to with this policy are actual young people, you know those that will directly be impacted by it? Honestly ridiculous that so much commentary on this completely ignores the perspectives of younger voters or those close to voting age.

Lucy Allan is deeply unpopular in Telford - many will be very pleased to see her go.

As sir humprey appleby would say....imposing national service would be a very courageous decision!

The energy price cap is forecast to increase in October. Helps to explain election timing.

A TERRIBLE idea! Fund the military properly! Signed a Veteran!

Alisitair, I'm a retired guy in my sixties (seventy this year) and Nationaal Service was abolished when I was six. (I was eight or nine when the last National Serviceman was demobbed.) I don't have any fond memories of serviing my nation. And I'll bet that many of the few remaining people who had actual experience of it were not that smitten with the experience. Conscription makes sense in order to fight the wars of the 19th Century and early 20th Century. It wasn't a good idea back in 1960 which is why the Generals and Admirals and Air Marshals were glad to see the back of it. If Rory wants to get this done then the first thing to do is to stop calling it National Service. But even if you do that then you are still saying to 18 year olds is "Your first experience of being a citizen will be to have a fair bit of your life taken away from you."

You guys show that useful content can be communicated without hysterical denouncing of opponents. Great job. By the way National Service is a shit idea. Really glad to not have been subjected to it.

Regarding party general election marketing here in north west Leicestershire, I've received a leaflet from new conservative candidate who has replaced Andrew Bridgen. In contrast, 50% of the ads I see during my evening RU-vid viewing are for either Starmer, Reeves or the new labour candidate for my constituency. Geolocation clearly working very effectively here on RU-vid for advertisers. I haven't received any RU-vid advertising from the other party's. I'm guessing this is a target seat for labour due to the recent turmoil within the constituency. The fact I subscribe to your channel has probably also been interpreted by the algorithm to mean I might vote labour.

Rory, further reading is definitely needed on David Lloyd George's overall performance as Prime Minister during and after World War One. Historians are far more critical about his performance and character than they once were.

There should be no question about whether national service is paid. Obviously it should be paid.

You two are killing it with the amount of content we’re getting. Thanks.

From live and work in any EU country to a Brexiteer forced labour camp at 18 in under 5 years.

I challenge you to find any teacher working during 2010-14 when Gove ruined the education system who would say he was any kind of loss to the country.

It isn't a good idea at all How are young people going to feel knowing that their time and actual livlihood is being traded for the votes of some OAPs (who probably never served). What sort of faith in politics and democracy does that give them? That is close to the tipping point where you begin to venture in to post-soviet style "you leave us alone and we'll let you do whatever you like" type social areangement that is now backfiring in Russia. Here is a much better idea: properly fund the MOD and properly fund education.

This whole "National Service" announcement is misleading at best, according to the briefings, the "brightest & best" will be the 30,000 selected for the forces, doing " logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations", so basically office jobs for public school pupils. As around 775,000 people become 18 each year, about 25 out of 26 will be doing the Community Volunteering option, which will be "volunteering with organisations such as the NHS, fire service, ambulance, search and rescue, and critical local infrastructure". Given the plans for a weekend a month for a year, will the emergency services have the capacity to train these three quarters of a million 18 year olds? I worked in the NHS, the mandatory courses will take up at least one, probably two, weekends alone. No doubt, the idea is to convince older voters, who would have to be in their eighties to have done the original 'National Service' ,that the groups of teens hanging about the local shops will be given 'decent haircuts' and marching up and down without any point. This is obviously a myth. The most annoying aspect is that I know a lot of teenagers volunteer already, at care homes, heritage museums, in the Scouts and Guides, all of which Mr. Sunak apparently considers worthless. By the way, my Dad was called up in 1945, but the war ended before his basic training was complete. He ended up in Gaza (how topical) trying to prevent Jewish migration to Palestine (once again, how topical).

Basically it is a 180 hour Community Service order for all 18 year olds, unless they join the Army.

I’m more interested in the odds on a Tory win. Last time I looked it was 30 to 1. For £10 if the worst happens then getting £300 could go towards a private dentist bill and so worth losing £10 if this disastrous Tory reign comes to an end.

I found the discussion on national service very difficult to follow, since you keep using such inconsistent terminology. When Rory was describing his suggestions he described it as "voluntary", but the rest of the discussion made it sound mandatory? Can you be clear: Is the suggestion that the government should hire young people for these roles or are you actually proposing slavery?

Lloyd George is very underestimated. When in charge of armaments he said transforming arms production was easy when compared to getting the civil service to give him a rug for his office.

I am not a conservative but I really enjoy listening to Roy Stewart. I used to live in the UK but I was a labourite. Canvassed for Harold Wilson.

Not sure mandatory state service is a good idea in liberal society.

Tosh. Privileged people lean on abstract notions of "duty". For those without, they must find a means to serve those who already take plenty. Utility monsters can't demand more and more for free. If you want a service: pay for it.

When i drive around derby and see men in their prime years wasted midday midweek then these are members of society without any clear purpose and structure and self discipline are key components for productive members of society.

Military National Service is a non starter. But I could see how non-military National Service could be beneficial to society IF it was implemented properly

You can't use the term book plugs Rory!! My ears pricked up because they so misheard that

We have a lot volunteering around now and what about the TA/reserve? It should have been packaged completely differently, nothing against Rory's point but that's not really National Service. More like a muscular NVQ.

I have no idea why I enjoy these two guys so much.(I guess they are just nice guys). I believe current politics is no longer fit for purposes. When I listen to Alistair and Rory, they seem to be almost 'foaming 'at the mouth with the excitement of politics. It reminds me of James Naughtie, on today radio4, who just revelled in political intrigue .I have tried to proportion how much narrative is about policy that will ,in this case, help the uk to be a better country and all the political intrigue based on ideological constraints that have nothing to do with the well being of 1) our country and 2) more importantly our society. I find it staggering that even now, in the 21st century, we think there is only One Key to political utopia, i.e., left / right / centre.In what other aspects of our lives do we live by such constraints (apart from formalised religion.... How's that working) My real concern is that people caught up in the world of politics become myopic, which in the case of Rory would seem disingenuous, taking into account his experience . I just feel no one is looking outside the box for another way . A bit like the dilemma of fossil fuels,too much is invested in this system, so we can't change it. (Electric cars etc 😂😂😂) Fortunately, I'm an old fool of 69, so the future won't really effect me, but my children and their children? Anyway, Chaps keep it going. I love it and would vote for Rory as PM and Alistair as his side kick ,Mister Nasty. Much affection to you both.

It's a $hit idea because the Service Chiefs say it's a $hit idea. By the time Conscription actually becomes necessary we will have bigger problems to worry about anyway......like digging Fallout Shelters.

National service: Rory, a good synopsis and, can you take it to another level and articulate how we have arrived at this point, beyond just the military needs. What has happened economically and socially that makes this more relevant now. Thanks. Adam

Where do i find the Blunket interview please?

Another brilliant and wide-ranging discussion. Many thanks.

I'm trying to find the Nancy Pelosi interview on this channel......could someone please help me?

Greetings from Irish man on hols in Toronto. To reduce the cynicism and mistrust of.policiticans, much greater transparency is needed on how our taxes are being spent .a breakdown of each department showing percentage of our taxes spent on health, education, welfare charity etc as much possible. a statement available to each taxpayer 3 months into new tax year. Can reduce corruption and money spent for votes etc

Excellent podcast.

Many youngsters already do community service as volunteers. The concept of ‘National Service’ for young people is an extension of this. However, I am of the fortunate generation; too young for national service, and would question the economics. The idea that it will cost £2.5 Billion is nonsense; it will be as much as ten times more than that. There are far more urgent things to spend £22 Billion on. The idea is reasonably sound but the financials and logistics just don’t add up.

Watch it back... it wasn't raining when Rishi walked outside

We can't get young people to pick crops. How are we going to train them to fight?

Hope you guys continue after the election I appreciate two political-types from opposite ends of the spectrum being civil and sharing perspective Cheers

I would never die for an Englishman

Thank you gentlemen, a good talk

Rory and Alistair approving of a policy of national service for teenagers in countries where university is free or much cheaper than here. Do they not understand that teenagers here have to work at weekends in order to do the normal things those Norwegians and Swedes do? Do they not understand that without that weekend income education will be out of the question for so many more people. Do they not see that the conservative proposal is intended specifically to lock out of higher education the young people who would not be able to afford to take every third weekend off? Educated people from the lower classes are not encouraged by wannabe autocrats. In fact the new Russian minister of defence specifically critiqued the rise of the middle class in Russia as a likely future problem. Is it that they don't understand? Or do they share this long-term intention?

Is there an new episode with Rachel Reeves available?

In Rory's version of the national service plan, can we envisage someone who joined the forces at 16/17, but didn't get accepted to the competitive military roles within this scheme. Do they just get sent off to join St Johns ambulance when they'd otherwise be on leave? How would it work with any overseas deployment (as voluntary service kicks in post 18) is this group supposed to fill the military slots automatically? What of the first year nursing or medical student already working p/t in the nhs on top of their studies (because its expensive) and been doing St Johns ambulance or similar for years to even get in? It just feels such a backstep.

I feel like it could be beneficial to have something in place for those who are coming out of school with nothing lined up. Obviously if I was a young person with aspirations, the last thing I'd want is to have to do is a set period of compulsory work. But say if you hadn't either gotten into uni, arranged an apprenticeship or some sort of training, had a job lined up, or some other objective (say starting a business), then you go into this programme, so you can't just "do nothing". I've no idea how it would be enforced, and it would probably be easily dodged but hey, I'm just an internet commenter.

17:08 I can see what Rory is trying to say about it but the last 14 Years of government havent fostered any respect. The Government has only taken away from the young, it would be very difficult to convince or incentivise any young people to want to do National Service in the UK until they have been given some reasons to want to do it (other than job prospects, because thats all that gets rammed down young peoples throats, NCS, DofE, Volunteering, Internships etc.) i.e. without a better economy for young people and reinvesting at the local level people wont much care for it, no point saying its good for your career if theres no careers for young people

Alistair almost never criticises Labour.

Rory says it doesn't seem like labour are splitting, yet now it seems we're seeing a row between the remnants of momentum, and starmer

Watching this from Yellowknife, NT.

Do Reform have a longer term strategy, which involves the conservatives failure this July? They know they don’t have the profile to make impact right away, but perhaps they can effectively play off a failed conservative collapse and a problematic labour government for 5 years

Why should the Labour Party have a channel 4 spot - thought they were supposed to be impartial

Well done lads, on the tele, and Channel 4, fantastic. Don’t forget where you came from!

Yes, but you miss the elephant in the room, None of the Above

Re being bombarded by marketing at the granular level .... terry gilliams movie The Zero Theorem, shows us the future. Walking down any street you are bombarded by billboards addressing your specific and very detailed interests !!!

We have air, Amy and navy cadets already, also plenty of volunteer opportunities. This is not a good idea implemented badly is is a terrible idea. What about restoring the full time professional army to 100,000 like was a few years ago before Tory cuts. Also The recruitment was out sourced to Capita to can take a year to start your training. Most ended up working or at college, who can sit around for a year! Tories out.

I love Rory’s Victorian mansion decor vs what looks like AC’s Norf Landan 1960’s

Roy Stewart should be the leader of his party. He has the right temperament.. although I don’t agree with all his views he is persuasive.

Thank you.

Why only pick on 18 year old, randomly draft for 1 year of service ALL Brits. This age discrimination is unfair. Also undemocratic, why let society pick on 1 group to sacrifice.

I still find it difficult to trust someone who has animal skulls hanging on the walls.

Rory I would vote for you every day of the week but the list of ministers you reeled off who are leaving are all the architects of the mess we are in now.

Okay you want forced (compulsory) volunteers to train to be killers & serve as slave labour without pay? Make all post 16 education, skills training outside school environment free. Stop the stealth privatisation of the NHS. Bring back free dentistry and optician services. Get your act together and renationalise water, energy, transport. The State collects more than enough from taxes to be able to do this. Most egregious is MP 's pay for zero sensible work. Either cut MP's wages by 50% or cut the number of MPs by 50%. The crony's that are stuffed in the HOL cut their entitlements by 50%. People at the top have quite a chusty lifestyle. Now you want our kids to volunteer for your planned warmongering habits. Our lives are not free.

After giving hundreds of millions of pounds of our money to friends and family, it is thought that Sunak will move back to America if he looses the election. Could the US government have influenced the timing of the election for its own ends? Voting patterns, foreign policy etc.

The thumbnail of the words 'bad execution' next to Sunak and Rory made me wonder if Rory had finally been given the all clear to Don a black hood and carry an axe, and botched the job

When our trident rockets misfire and our 'brilliant' drones have been made too heavy to fly laden, propellers shear off from aircraft carriers(those ones with no aircraft) we the public know our sense of security is risible and will remain so; but national service could be a chance to care for the aged. Defence/attack, Nooooooooooooo!

This policy has been copied and pasted from the 2011 film. The ides of March. Quote from film was the people it affects can't yet vote but it is popular with those who can vote. Maybe this has been pointed out previously.

National service is just what this fractured country needs. And not a friends brigade or a muslim and jewish brigade, get all the groups working and depending on people they would never deal with in their life