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Rishi Sunak has vowed to bring back national service for 18-year-olds to create a “renewed sense of pride in our country” if he wins the general election.
Under the mandatory scheme, teenagers would be given a choice between a full-time placement in the armed forces for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year volunteering in their community.
Labour branded the announcement “another desperate unfunded commitment”, which would cost an estimated £2.5bn each year, while armed forces veteran Justin Crump warned the “ill-thought through” plans would place an “enormous potential burden” on Britain’s military.
It comes as Wes Streeting warned striking doctors he would not meet their huge pay demands, and has vowed he would be “a shop steward for patients” as health secretary.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent, the shadow health secretary spoke of his plan to tackle of record waiting lists and the ongoing pay disputes, stating: “The NHS is not the envy of the world.”
Key Points
- Mandatory national service for 18-year-olds if Tories win election, Rishi Sunak vows
- Teenagers won’t be jailed for refusing call-up, insists James Cleverly
- More than 10,000 people cross Channel in small boats in blow to Sunak
- Keir Starmer says he wants to lower voting age to 16
Rachel Reeves pledges no return to austerity under Labour
Rachel Reeves pledges no return to austerity under Labour
Rachel Reeves has ruled out increases to income tax or national insurance if Labour are elected in this year's general election. Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg on 26 May, the shadow chancellor pledged that there would not be a "return to austerity" under their government, noting that she would not put forward “unfunded proposals”. Ms Reeves has joined Sir Keir Starmer in his view that taxes on working people should be lower. "I don’t want to make any cuts to public spending which is why we’ve announced the immediate injection of cash into public services," she added.
Holly Evans26 May 2024 22:00 1716755703Bringing back national service? Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Sunak?
There’s nothing sadder when a relationship deteriorates to the point that one party has to start promising the moon. That trip to Paris we’ve been putting off? I can find the money. Your parents hate me? I can be more charming. Suddenly you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.
It’s a bad way to fix a relationship, and it’s a disastrous way to try and fix a country. Yet it seems to be the prime minister’s current strategy for holding on to office – and it’s going about as well as you’d expect.
Yes, we’re only a couple of days into Rishi Sunak’s re-election campaign and he’s already promising to bring back national service for 18-year-olds if he wins in July. Teens will be given the choice to either join the military full time, or volunteer one weekend every month carrying out community service.
Read the full article from Ryan Coogan here:
Compulsory national service? Who do you think you’re kidding, Mr Sunak?
It’s the kind of policy that seems purpose-built to appeal to an extremely select group of people, which includes Captain Mainwaring from Dad’s Army, and precisely nobody else
Holly Evans26 May 2024 21:35 1716754551Finally some good news for Rishi Sunak after his football team Southampton secures promotion
It has been a rollercoaster of a couple of years to be a Southampton fan - from the lows of regulation last season, to a thrilling rise up the Championship this season.
But Rishi Sunak’s beloved Saints won a dramatic play-off final on Sunday to secure promotion to the Premier League.
It finally marks some good news for the prime minister after his own rollercoaster start to his general election campaign, which saw him drenched in rain when announcing the July 4 date and a mass exodus of MPs has left his party scrambling for candidates.
Read the full article here:
Finally good news for Sunak after his football team Southampton secures promotion
The prime minister’s beloved Saints have secured promotion after a dramatic Championship play-off final
Holly Evans26 May 2024 21:15 1716753051Ben Wallace’s favourite defence blogger exposes real cost of Sunak’s National Service plan
A former army reservist whose blog has been praised by ex-defence secretary Ben Wallace has ripped apart Rishi Sunak’s plans to reintroduce National Service.
The author of the Thinpinstripe blog is a former civil servant at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and writes under the pseudonym “Sir Humphry”.
His analysis of the Tory pledge to add 30,000 teenagers to the armed forces ranks every year has raised serious questions about the costs of the project.
Read the full article from political editor David Maddox here:
Ben Wallace’s favourite defence blogger questions Sunak’s National Service plan
A defence blogger and analyst beloved by former defence secretary Ben Wallace has questioned key details about Sunak’s National Service plan
Holly Evans26 May 2024 20:50 1716752151Labour could take up to 25 Scottish seats at Westminster
Scottish Labour is on course to win up to 25 UK parliamentary seats in the General Election, according to a poll.
The survey by More In Common showed the Labour Party started the election campaign with a five-point lead over the SNP.
Labour polled at 35%, with the SNP at 30%, the Conservatives at 17%, the Liberal Democrats at 10%, Reform UK at 4% and the Greens at 3%.
More in Common polled a nationally representative sample of 1,016 Scottish voters between May 22 and 24.
The survey found voters north of the border are more likely than Britain overall to say it is time for a change in leadership.
Holly Evans26 May 2024 20:35 1716750651Nigel Farage confirms plans to stand as future candidate after General Election
Nigel Farage has insisted he still has “one more big card to play” and confirmed plans to stand as a future MP candidate, despite feeling “extremely disappointed” by Rishi Sunak’s decision to call a General Election on July 4.
The Reform UK honorary president said he could not campaign both nationally and for one constituency in the six-week timeframe, and suggested the Prime Minister had used “first mover advantage” with the announcement.
Mr Farage announced in a statement on Thursday that he would not stand as a party candidate in the election, but would “do my bit to help” in the UK campaign.
Read the full article here:
Nigel Farage confirms plans to stand as future candidate after General Election
The Reform UK honorary president said he could not campaign both nationally and for one constituency in the six-week timeframe.
Holly Evans26 May 2024 20:10 1716749451Rachel Reeves refuses to put timetable on defence spending
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, asked when Labour would increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, told BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “We’re not going to put a timetable on that”.
“We’ve committed to do in government a strategic defence review to make sure that we’re getting value for money for all of our spending, including on defence where some of the procurement costs of purchasing new equipment have, frankly, got out of control under this Government.”
On whether Labour would scrap the two-child benefit cap, Ms Reeves said: “We’re not going to be able to put everything right that the Conservatives have done straight away, and our priority is reducing those NHS waiting lists.”
Holly Evans26 May 2024 19:50 1716748251Refusal to mention EU makes this election most dishonest in modern times, warns Heseltine
Lord Heseltine has warned that the 2024 general election campaign “will be the most dishonest in modern times” because of the refusal of the main parties to debate the consequences of Brexit.
The former deputy prime minister, who fell out with the Conservatives over leaving the European Union, has written exclusively for The Independent explaining how the big issues in this general election – the economy, immigration and defence – all need to be debated in the context of the UK’s relationship with the EU.
But he claimed that Labour and the Tories are too scared to discuss Brexit because of the potential impact on their voter bases.
Read the full article from our political editor here:
Heseltine: This is the most dishonest election of modern times
As an exclusive poll shows that voters links falling living standards and failures on immigration to leaving the EU, Lord Heseltine warns that the election should focus on Brexit
Holly Evans26 May 2024 19:30 1716747052Can Euro 2024 really give Rishi Sunak a football bounce in the polls?
As Rishi Sunak stood in Downing Street last Wednesday, his voice barely audible over the music being blasted by protesters, and rain trickling down his face, it was no surprise that political commentators were left scratching their heads at what on earth had prompted the PM to call an election.
Some faintly positive economic news seemed an obvious, if scant, justification. Alternatively, some speculated that Rishi’s decision was prompted by his realisation that his plan to “stop the boats” by flying all of Europe’s dinghies to Rwanda was not going to work any time soon. Better, in that case, to cut his losses and go to the country before that failure became all too obvious.
Even more cynical observers wondered if a July election defeat might enable the PM to offer a speedy resignation and relocate to Silicon Valley in time for the new school term in America, in August. That all sounded a bit Meta to me.
Read the full article here:
Can Euro 2024 really give Rishi Sunak a football bounce in the polls?
The PM may be hoping for a footie-based polls boost, but Will Gore thinks it could be an own goal
Holly Evans26 May 2024 19:10 1716745852Labour and Tories accuse each other of hiding from campaign trail
Labour and the Tories have accused each other of not appearing on the campaign trail.
On Saturday, Sir Keir Starmer’s party said Rishi Sunak was “hiding away in his mansion” after he returned to his constituency to meet local veterans.
On Sunday, the Conservatives made a counter-accusation after shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, rather than Sir Keir, headed out to give a stump speech to Labour party members.
A senior Tory campaign source: “Yesterday the PM hit the campaign trail two hours before Sir Keir surfaced. Today there is no sign of Starmer whatsoever and we are just four days into the campaign.
“Campaigns are tough, tiring things and it’s understandable that he may be weary. But being Prime Minister is a 24/7 job which requires stamina.”
Holly Evans26 May 2024 18:50 Newer1 / 8OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
