Army chiefs have warned that the UK must consider conscription to be ready for war with Russia, however, the government has never called up women to serve in direct contact
As tension with Russia rises, ex-NATO officers said its time to ‘wake up’ and consider conscription immediately to have thousands of soldiers ready to counter the growing threat of Vladimir Putin’s military.
The UK’s dwindling military has sparked alarm among experts in national security as Starmer warned that allies were ‘ready to deploy’ in Ukraine. One former commander has sounded the alarm, warning that the country would effectively be defenceless were Putin to launch a direct attack.
Following major cuts to the Ministry of Defence beginning in 2010, only 72,000 armed regular forces personnel are currently serving in the British Army – the lowest number since the Napoleonic wars. Yet, despite the talk of British troops in Ukraine, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat MacFaddon has flatly ruled out conscription, saying it’s “not on the table.”
Military experts and defence analysts have warned complacency could lead to disaster. Sir Richard Shirreff, former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, bluntly said the UK must introduce conscription as soon as possible, or be powerless in the battle to stop Putin.
Similarly, Colonel Hamish De Bretton Gordon has warned that Britain must prepare to conscript in the case of escalation – or risk surrendering to Putin. He said: “Militarily, Britain absolutely needs to look at all the options as has been described. We are not in a position at the moment to fight a ground war. There’s no way we’ll avoid [conscription] unless we surrender, and I don’t think anybody in this country is going to surrender without a fight, especially to Putin.”
If you can’t see the poll, click here.
Nations like Poland and Latvia have already reintroduced conscription, bracing for the worst. However, women have not been called up to the compulsory military service in either country.
However, a recent poll by data company YouGov showed a huge majority of the public – 72 per cent – say women should be conscripted alongside men if World War III ever broke out. 42 per cent think they should serve on the exact same basis as men, versus 30 per cent who think there should be some kind of restrictions on the roles they can perform (e.g. perhaps not serving in the infantry).
Those women of conscription age (18-40) are the most likely to say women should not be conscripted, at 19 per cent – although more than three times as many (60 per cent) think women should serve in the armed forces in some shape or form.
In response to a Mirror poll about whether conscription should be reintroduced, some argued that if conscription were to come into force, women should be treated the same as men. Railywayboots said: “If it ever came to conscription again, especially being a party of equality, women should be called up in exactly the same way as men and be expected to take on the exact same roles.”
Florrie wrote: “If introduced it should be for both young men and women. I for one hope it is never introduced. Perhaps the people wanting it don’t have young children or grandchildren.”
What do you think? Should women be conscripted in the event of a world war? Take our poll and have your say in the comments below.
