Communities minister Alex Norris was challenged on the possibility of forcing 18 year olds into the military as talks accelerate over ending the war in Ukraine
A minister has ruled out calling youngsters up for national service as talks ramp up to end the war in Ukraine.
Communities minister Alex Norris was challenged on the possibility of forcing 18 year olds into the military. It comes as the PM said he was prepared to put British “boots on the ground and planes in the air” to secure peace in Ukraine after Donald Trump accelerated talks to end the war.
Mr Norris pointed to Rishi Sunak’s national service proposal during the election campaign, which came under fierce criticism. The former Tory PM was ridiculed for his “teenage Dad’s Army” plan to force 18 year olds into the military or voluntary.
Asked about the possibility of national service being introduced again, Mr Norris told Times Radio: “I think that was a decision for the UK people at the general election. I didn’t discern much enthusiasm for that. What we do need to have is a much stronger military. That’s why we’ve made the very significant commitments we made there on our defence spending.”
Last week General Sir Richard Shirreff, a former NATO commander and retired senior British Army officer, called for the UK to consider conscripting 30,000 Brits a year to boost its depleted Armed Forces. It followed Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, warning that the UK military is “so run down” it could not lead any peacekeeping mission in Ukraine in the future. He told the BBC that up to 40,000 UK troops would be needed and “we just haven’t got that number available”.
Armed forces minister Luke Pollard admitted the armed forces has been “hollowed out”. He yesterday praised the PM’s decision to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income by 2027 and said the Strategic Defence Review, due out in the spring, will set out how the extra cash will be spent.
“Frankly, we’ve inherited an armed forces that have been hollowed out and underfunded,” he said. “We’ve got a retention and recruitment crisis we’ve inherited from the last administration. So we have to take steps to spend that money wisely, to renew the contract between the nation and those men and women who serve in our armed forces.
“We’ve taken steps to do so with the biggest pay rise in 20 years for our armed forces. And when the Strategic Defence Review, which is a document that will set out what the shape and structure of our forces will be, is published in the spring, you’ll see how we intend to spend that money and spend it more wisely.”
The total strength of the UK Forces decreased between April 2023 and April 2024 by 3% or 5,590 personnel, down to 183,230. This figure includes the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force.