Plan to fund conscription
The remaining £1.5bn will be paid for with money previously used for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which was brought in to replace lost European Union funding after Brexit, the Tories said.
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.”
Defending the policy on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, Home Secretary James Cleverley said it was aimed at tackling “social fragmentation”.
“Too many young people live in a bubble within their own communities,” Cleverley said.
He added that young people would not be sent to jail for defying the mandatory national service.
“There’s going to be no criminal sanction. There’s no-one going to jail over this,” he told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme.
THE Conservatives’ plan to pay for conscription with funding originally brought in to replace European Union money lost to Brexit has been branded a “national scandal”.
The SNP hit out after the Prime Minister unveiled a proposal for all 18-year-olds to complete a period of national service, and the Tories said that they would use £1.5 billion from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to fund it.
However, when the fund was created in 2022, the UK Government said that it “succeeds the old EU structural funds”.
It added: “This money will go straight to local places right across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
However, the Conservatives have now instead pledged to use the money to pay for the “national service” plan, which would see young people given a choice between a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year “volunteering”.
The SNP said they will oppose the plan, branding it “completely out of touch with families and young people in Scotland”.
Amy Callaghan, the SNP MP and candidate for Mid Dunbartonshire, said: “The SNP will stand firm against Tory plans to slash Scotland’s funding and impose mandatory national service on young people, showing why it’s essential to vote SNP to get rid of the Tory government and put Scotland first.
“It’s shameful Keir Starmer also claims mandatory national service is ‘needed’ and won’t rule out imposing it on Scottish families. These plans from a bygone era are completely out of touch with families and