Prime Minister reveals radical plan to force all 18-year-olds to serve in the military for 12 months - or give up weekends to carry out civil duties

Rishi Sunak would present compulsory National Service for each 18-year-olds if the Conservatives triumph the General Election.

Under the bombshell plan, unveiled by the Prime Minister successful an nonfiction for The Mail connected Sunday, school-leavers would beryllium obliged to walk a twelvemonth successful a full-time Armed Forces relation oregon volunteering with organisations specified arsenic the constabulary oregon NHS. The daze move, which is modelled connected systems already successful spot crossed Europe, is apt to divided sentiment – but volition besides galvanise the archetypal afloat week of the predetermination campaign.

Mr Sunak said the 'reinvented' strategy would 'provide life-changing opportunities for our young people', and declared: 'As a father, I look guardant to my ain 2 daughters doing their National Service: I deliberation they volition find it a rewarding experience.' He added: 'Being British is astir much than conscionable the queue you articulation astatine passport control.'

The thought of forcing school-leavers into the strategy is apt to beryllium the astir contentious constituent – though No 10 points retired that lone 10 per cent of 18-year-olds are expected to instrumentality up the enactment of a afloat subject committee for the 12-month period, with the remainder moving for conscionable 1 play a month.

If the Conservatives are re-elected, a Royal Commission would beryllium established to finalise the details and the strategy would travel into effect successful September adjacent year.

The melodramatic determination came as:

• Labour person Sir Keir Starmer was accused of trying to 'rig' the strategy to support his enactment successful powerfulness by saying helium wanted to widen voting rights to 16-year-olds – who are overwhelmingly anti-Conservative. Giving the close to ballot to much than 1.5 cardinal under-18s would beryllium the largest alteration to the electoral strategy since the voting property was chopped from 21 to 18 successful 1969;
• A Mail connected Sunday canvass recovered that replacing Mr Sunak with Boris Johnson arsenic person would chopped Labour's bulk – but Sir Keir would inactive triumph a landslide. Labour holds a 22-point pb successful the survey;
• Allies of Mr Johnson said helium would beryllium overseas for overmuch of the run – arsenic his supporters claimed that pro-Boris candidates were being 'purged' during rushed selections for astir 200 seats;
• Tory in-fighting continued implicit the election, with Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt accused of efficaciously 'boycotting' the Cabinet gathering to rubber-stamp the decision;
• Reform UK's Nigel Farage described the predetermination arsenic 'the dullest successful history' arsenic helium pledged to 'inject immoderate passionateness into the statement and exposure immoderate of the nonsense from Sunak and Starmer' erstwhile helium hits the run way this week;
• Sources said Reform's lone MP, erstwhile Tory Lee Anderson, had told Mr Farage to 'man up' erstwhile helium announced that helium would not beryllium lasting successful the election;
• Labour aides are understood to person expressed interest that if Sir Keir supports England successful adjacent month's Euro 2024 tourney by wearing a Three Lions garment helium could alienate voters successful Scotland.

The program to reintroduce National Service was drawn up successful secret, with lone Mr Sunak's adjacent advisers – understood to see erstwhile Tory person William Hague – privy to the details.

In their confidential 40-page plan, the advisers argued that the increasing planetary threats posed by countries specified arsenic Russia and China needed to beryllium addressed by beefing up our Armed Forces – arsenic did the listlessness of galore young adults. Nearly 750,000 18 to 24-year-olds are presently retired of work, and this property radical is disproportionately represented successful the transgression justness system.

The civic roles would see supporting flood defences and communities during earthy disasters, NHS enactment roles, occurrence information work, oregon signing up for the RNLI oregon upland hunt and rescue.

Sweden, Norway, France and Denmark are among the countries to person reintroduced a modern mentation of nationalist work recently.

In his article, Mr Sunak writes: 'Our pridefulness successful our United Kingdom should not unsighted america to the challenges it faces. One of those is that generations of young radical person not had the opportunities, oregon experiences, they merit – and excessively overmuch imaginable is wasted successful purposeless lives of transgression oregon unemployment.'

He adds: 'We indispensable bash much for our young radical and our young radical indispensable bash much for our country. After all, our state is lone arsenic beardown arsenic what we each lend to it. This caller National Service volition springiness the coming procreation an accidental to larn invaluable beingness skills portion contributing to our country.

'For some, it volition unfastened their eyes to imaginable careers. For others, it volition forge a civilization of work that volition marque our nine stronger and much cohesive.'

National Service was archetypal introduced aft the Second World War for each able-bodied men betwixt the ages of 18 and 21.

More than 2 cardinal were conscripted to the Armed Forces betwixt 1949 and 1963.