A new survey has cast doubt on whether the group most likely to face UK conscription would actually be prepared to fight in a World War 3. The British Social Attitudes Survey, which questioned 4,656 Britons aged 16 and over, found that just 22 percent of those under the age of 35 would be willing to enlist in the armed forces or attached significant importance to doing so.
Survey findings and context
The survey, conducted annually since 1983, comes amid heightened fears of a global conflict following the USA dispatching a third aircraft carrier to the region before striking Iranian sites ahead of the US Midterm Elections. The findings also showed that more people regarded the USA as a threat, despite the mounting threat posed by Russia to the east.
Conscription has not been used in the UK since 1963, but speculation has grown about who might be first in line to be called up if war broke out and the UK found itself drawn into the conflict.
Historical conscription in the UK
Conscription was last used in the UK in 1963, but it was also introduced during World War 2. On that occasion, the age range was expanded from 20-to-22-year-olds in 1939 to men aged between 18 and 41. The Parliament website said: "On the day Britain declared war on Germany, 3 September 1939, Parliament immediately passed a more wide-reaching measure. The National Service (Armed Forces) Act imposed conscription on all males aged between 18 and 41 who had to register for service."
Who might be called up
Author and historian David Swift, speaking to The Express earlier this year, suggested that one demographic in particular would be targeted. He said: "Military conscription would target unemployed graduates - this would be very popular with lots of people."
Swift suggested, however, that those employed in the UK's defence industries would be more likely to receive an exemption. He added: "Since there is such an urgent need to rebuild Britain's defence industries and industrial capacity. I would expect that people in these important occupations would be exempt. Or even that people could be 'conscripted' into working in these industries."
