The Conservative Party said it would revive a decades-old national service mandate for every 18-year-old Briton by the end of the next parliament, a high-profile political gamble as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak lays out his six-week campaign message ahead of the election of July.
“This is a great country, but generations of young people have not had the opportunities or experience they deserve and there are forces seeking to divide our society in this increasingly uncertain world,” Sunak said in a statement.
The mandate would require 18-year-olds to choose between a full-time deployment to the armed forces or cyber defense for a year, or volunteering in their community for the equivalent of one weekend a month for a year.
