A House of Commons research briefing has highlighted potential benefits of national service, as a survey suggests many Britons believe the UK could be at war within five years.
Benefits of National Service
The briefing referenced a 2019 paper, “Competitive National Service,” by Elizabeth Braw, who was then director of the defence think tank RUSI’s modern deterrence programme. The paper examined how the Scandinavian model could be adapted for Britain.
According to the Parliamentary document, Braw “identified military, societal and personal benefits of national service.” These include providing “an efficient way to build up reserve forces to support the professional forces,” contributing “to national identity and unity by serving the same national cause,” and furthering “young persons’ personal development.”
In another paper, “The case for national resilience training for teenagers,” Braw argued that, with training, young people could play a valuable role in crisis scenarios. She suggested non-weapons training would include crisis preparedness, emergency response and information literacy.
Public Concerns and Political Views
The House of Commons paper also mentioned a survey by the Resilience Imperative, an initiative launched to address unconventional and hybrid warfare, released in March. It found that 40% of people in the UK believe the country will be at war within five years, and more than half thought the UK is poorly prepared for war. Additionally, more than 66% of those questioned said they feared they would be “unable to cope” during a conflict.
In June, Conservative shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the UK should emulate its NATO allies, who were increasing the size of their reserve forces. He said: “Whilst other countries have used conscription, we remain committed to a professional, volunteer armed forces – and that means we need to make reserve service financially worthwhile. For those who already have full-time jobs and want to serve their country, the last thing we should want is for them to be clobbered by the taxman for giving up their evenings and weekends.”
Government Position
In September, Defence Minister Lord Coaker said: “This Government has no current plans for compulsory military service. Since 1963, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the best way of providing for the defence of our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces which are manned by volunteers.”
The Government is focusing instead on voluntary schemes intended to give younger people experience of military life without joining the regular Armed Forces. Lord Coaker added: “Through this combination of military experience, engagement, education, skills development and voluntary service opportunities, defence is already helping more young people understand the role of the Armed Forces, experience Service life, develop valuable skills, and explore opportunities to contribute to national security and public service.”
