Conservative Minister Kevin Hollinrake says there will be ‘no exemptions’ from mandatory National Service in the UK.
Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans for 18-year-olds to take part in a National Service scheme should he remain in power.
Details remain relatively vague at this early stage but the Tories confirmed it would come in two avenues; Community volunteering and military training.
The former would see teenagers have to participate in a volunteering course within their local community one weekend a month for a whole year.
Kevin Hollinrake said that “no one is exempt”
GB News
Minister Kevin Hollinrake said: “No one will be exempt from it when it’s in place it will be introduced flexibly.
“It’s subject to a royal commission who are going to put the details, are going to inform us about what the right way to do it is. But the intention is that every 18-year-old will do it.
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“They will work flexibly so that people can do it around other commitments they have, such as some work commitments where it’s required.
“I distinctly remember Elvis Presley doing his service as a GI. I don’t know if you remember that, but it’s fantastic that we all play our part and we contribute towards society and that thing that builds pride in the country. I think the people I speak to on the doorstep feel the same.”
In a TikTok video, the Prime Minister said: “As is the case in other countries, we will provide a stipend to help with living costs for those doing the military element alongside their training.
“Meanwhile, on the civic side, we will make sure organisations have funding for training and administration.”
Rishi Sunak has pledged to implement ‘compulsory’ national service as part of his manifestoGetty
Foreign Office Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP told GB News: “As the Prime Minister has set out we will, if we were fortunate enough to be re-elected – there’s a pilot running in 2025.
“But there would be a Royal Commission, because bringing in a new law, a National Service Act, obviously will have a complexity to it, which will require all those issues being looked at fully…
“So that’s what the Royal Commission is for and the policy aim is for this to be fully in action by 2029.”
Kevin Hollinrake spoke to GB News
GB News
She continued: “We have got to make sure that we have young people who are strong and resilient, who understand why it is that we are such an amazing country and that is in large part because we have incredible freedom, of speech, of liberty, all of those things.
“The rest of the world is in a really rough place at the moment and we’ve got to make sure and that’s the work that we do through Nato, the incredible leadership that the UK shows, why it is that we believe these things are important to stand up.
“So I’m only surprised by anyone who thinks that those values, defending those values, ensuring that young people are resilient as individuals and as part of a community is something that they would think isn’t a good thing. I find that very disappointing on their part…
Read More: ‘EVERY 18-year-old will do it!’ Tory Minister warns ‘NO EXCEPTIONS’ for National
