Rishi Sunak pledges to bring back National Service if Conservatives win general election

National service would return for 18-year-olds if the Conservatives win the July 4 general election, Rishi Sunak has pledged. The scheme, which would cost an estimated £2.5 billion a year, would see young people given the choice of completing a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months, or spending one weekend a month for a year 'volunteering' in their community.

Volunteering could include taking on roles in fire, police and NHS services, the Conservatives said, in a bid to boost UK resources in an “increasingly uncertain world”.

Labour branded the plan "desperate" and "another unfunded commitment" and pointed to depleted UK armed forces - saying the scheme was "only needed because the Tories hollowed out the armed forces to their smallest size since Napoleon".

The Lib Dems' defence spokesperson, MP Richard Foord, said the money would be better spent reversing "swingeing cuts to the number of our regular service personnel".

Teenagers who chose to sign up for a placement in the forces would be offered roles in "logistics, cyber security, procurement or civil response operations", the Conservatives said.

However, before any scheme came into force, the Tories said they would establish a royal commission to come up with details of any plan, aiming to have the scheme open for voluntary applications by September 2025, before it became law by the end of the next Parliament.

Funding for the scheme could also prove to be controversial, with the Lib Dems pointing at £1.5bn set to come from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which was established as part of Boris Johnson's 'Levelling Up' package to support underfunded parts of the UK.

Mr Sunak said: "This is a great country but generations of young people have not had the opportunities or experience they deserve and there are forces trying to divide our society in this increasingly uncertain world. I have a clear plan to address this and secure our future.

“I will bring in a new model of national service to create a shared sense of purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country. This new, mandatory national service will provide life-changing opportunities for our young people, offering them the chance to learn real world skills, do new things and contribute to their community and our country."

Labour, however, highlighted a similar scheme introduced by then-PM David Cameron – the National Citizen Service – in the 2010s, as part of his Big Society scheme.

"This is not a plan – it’s a review which could cost billions and is only needed because the Tories hollowed out the armed forces to their smallest size since Napoleon," a Labour spokesperson said. "Britain has had enough of the Conservatives, who are bankrupt of ideas, and have no plans to end 14 years of chaos. It’s time to turn the page and rebuild Britain with Labour."

And Lib Dem Mr Foord added: "If the Conservatives were serious about defence, they would reverse their damaging cuts to our world class professional armed forces, instead of decimating them, with swingeing cuts to the number of our regular service personnel.

"Our armed forces were once the envy of the world. This Conservative government has cut troop numbers and is planning more cuts to the size of the Army. This would be far better spent reversing Conservative cuts to troop numbers."

Meanwhile, the election campaign is set to continue today, with Rishi Sunak expected to be in the south east, while shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will give a stump speech to party members in West Yorkshire.

Sir Ed Davey, Lib Dem leader, will launch the party's battlebus in a marginal constituency in the so-called Tory blue wall of southern England.