OPINION - Conscription is what nobody wants, but Britain is at war in all but name so it’s time for national service
Across the Whitehall and Westminster villages there is no more toxic subject than national service and conscription for the military, and other services. Any revival of national service, which ended in 1959, would be costly and wouldn’t win votes.
Yet it is now a hot topic — and pretty sure to come up in the general election campaign, to the chagrin of and Keir Starmer. The outgoing head of the , General Sir Patrick Sanders, has just this to handle the increasing prospect of and beyond. Sir Patrick’s suggestion was yesterday. That, however, is the beginning of the argument and not the end.
