Teenagers should be put to work on farms instead of doing national service, according to Jeremy Clarkson.
Last week Rishi Sunak vowed to bring back national service for 18-year-olds. Labour rejected the Tories’ plans branding it a “headline-grabbing gimmick”.
Under the mandatory scheme, teenagers will have to enrol in the military for 12 months – or spend one weekend each month volunteering in their community.
On Monday Mr Clarkson took to social media and called the idea “obviously idiotic”.
The 64-year-old who presents the hit Amazon series Clarkson’s Farm in which he tends to his Diddly Squat Farm in West Oxfordshire, suggested young people should work on farms instead of completing national service.
The former Top Gear presenter wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Here’s an idea. Instead of national service, which is obviously idiotic, how about kids working on farms.”
When asked if he was looking for free labour, Mr Clarkson confirmed he would be happy to pay for labour.
National service was introduced in the UK in 1949, with all physically fit males aged 17 and 21 having to serve in the Armed Forces initially for 18 months. This period was lengthened to two years in 1950.
They then remained on the reserve list for another four years. During this time they could be called on to serve with their units but on no more than three occasions for a maximum of 20 days.
Under Rishi Sunak’s modern scheme, school leavers aged 18 will be given the choice of enrolling in the military for 12 months – or undertaking a period of volunteering in their community.
National service officially ended in 1960 although periods of deferred service still had to be completed. The last national servicemen were discharged in 1963.
A new Royal Commission will design the programme, with a pilot scheme opening for applications in September 2025, ahead of a national rollout by 2029.
Labour immediately criticised the proposals, claiming the Conservatives had been driven to take “desperate” action because they have “hollowed out the Armed Forces to their smallest size since Napoleon”.
Dismissing the plans, Liz Kendall, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said elections “should be about the country’s future, not fighting for a better past”.
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