Tory MPs are trying to introduce national service, again

This week marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. Veterans will march in military procession, tales of the heroism of those who served will be told, and over four days of celebrations we will all be reminded of the fortitude, sacrifice and courage of the wartime generation who gave so much.

Following their victory over tyranny, to help face the changed world in front of it, the country introduced national service as a form of peacetime conscription for men between the ages of 17 and 21.

After a poorly received policy announcement by the party during the 2024 general election – proposing 18-year-olds enrol in a mandatory scheme of either spending one weekend each month volunteering in the community or 12 months in the military – some Tory MPs today are in the mood for an extra dose of patriotism, and have been looking at ways to once more resurrect national service.

ConservativeHome understands the proposal was raised again by a selection of encouraging MPs in an open meeting held by the shadow defence team as part of Kemi Badenoch’s policy renewal programme, and was greeted warmly.

“There have been chats with colleagues about national service, how to rebuild societal ties and make communities stronger. It is something that will require young people to give something back,” one of the Tory MPs supportive of the original idea says.

“People think it was a good thing last time around but framing was the issue. We didn’t land it.”

Another MP is similarly encouraging of the idea and wants the party to look at a Scandinavian “competitive model” like Norway where when it comes to military service, everyone must enlist but not everyone is selected, with only “the brightest and the best” accepted following a number of aptitude tests. Military conscripts are then high in demand for employers after they have completed their service.

One LOTO source even says of national service: “It is the one thing Rishi Sunak did that was good. Young people don’t have a stake in society and this is a way to tackle that.”

They are not alone. The former Tesco boss John Allan said earlier this year that Britain’s youth could benefit from some government ‘coercion’ and that 16-24 year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) be pushed to do municipal work or military training. Even Sir Michael Caine said he would support the return of national service as it “teaches you a lot”.

The issue with the policy last time around, a number of supportive MPs say, is that connotations were too hooked along military lines; if the policy is going to be developed, they think it should instead end up going through the Cabinet Office or DWP to reframe it around the idea of bolstering civic society.

I understand that the shadow defence team, who first heard the suggestions, will be looking closely at proposals from MPs and members pushing the idea – and nothing has yet been ruled out. But they do not so far have any specific plans for national service.

When the Tories first announced the policy during the 2024 general election, it descended into a messy row, with claims it had been ‘sprung’ on unsuspecting ministers, comparisons with conscription and confused details about whether parents would end up fined if their children failed to do national service.

At the time Badenoch wrote that Conservatives were “thinking about duty, civic pride and social cohesion” with the introduction of the policy.

But Grant Shapps, Sunak’s defence secretary when the proposals were launched, now warns against the idea of re-adopting the policy. He tells me: “I’m not in favour of compulsory national service… it wasn’t the wisest policy then and I don’t think it should be casually introduced without a lot of thought.”

Shapps adds: “It was one of the policies that played badly on the doorstep when the manifesto suddenly suggested mandatory service, leading to many Conservative candidates spending time on the doorstep trying to explain why sons and daughters weren’t going to be sent off to war.”

The mere suggestion of bringing back the plans has sparked the ire of a number of fellow Tory MPs as well as Conservative campaigners.

One veteran campaigner says: “It is bonkers. It was toxic at the last general election and is not one I would favour politically.”

“The reason so many Tory MPs like it is because it reminds them of the 1950s,” a Tory MP adds.

One former Tory MP found the idea people would be looking to bring back the policy hard to believe: “Even if it were the right policy I think the associations of it are now too bad to bring back.”

The original idea came from an Onward report on social fabric and ‘Great British National Service’. Their proposal was for a voluntary, not compulsory scheme, starting aged 16, but this is ultimately what David Cameron wanted with National Citizens Service and, as the former Tory MP points out, after a lot of money, what difference has that made?

“I suspect it will never be introduced in the way it’s envisaged by the people who support it,” one of the kinder MPs critiques.

This latest push may be a valiant effort by a group of politicians, some of whom have diagnosed a very real issue in our politics: a lack of stake in British culture, a crumbling civic society. 

Polling over the years has suggested around 40 per cent of the country might support national service and support was often strongest among those retiree voters where the Tories needed to shore up their base.

But given the botch job that was made of the policy by the party last time around it is now likely to be one that finds a tough reception – and if the Tories want to appeal wider than their average voter age of 63-years-old, failing to provide a real offering to under-24s, instead throwing national service at their feet, might not cut the mustard. After all, it is a popular idea with those who have never had to do it themselves. Mending the connection with civic society is crucial, but a better start might be around housing and taxation reform that would create prosperous economic conditions for young people …

At a time when the party seems to have little on the policy front to win voters over with, I’m not convinced politically that national service is something Badenoch should take heed of, even if some within LOTO are keen.