Hello, How would you feel about being made to join the armed forces for a year? That’s the question Rami Mwamba had for Greater Manchester’s young people when he took to the streets to ask them about national service yesterday. Under plans announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of the general election, a Tory majority would see 18-year-olds 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”. Rishi Sunak has pledged to bring back national service for 18-year-olds (Image: Getty Images) The Prime Minister said the policy would help unite society in an “increasingly uncertain world” and give young people a “shared sense of purpose”.
The finer details haven't been drawn up just yet, but the Tories say volunteering could include helping local fire, police and NHS services as well as charities tackling loneliness and supporting elderly, isolated people. It’s a controversial policy to say the least - and one that our region’s young people had plenty of thoughts on. Ife Adebanjo, 18 and a first time voter, was sceptical about the whole thing, saying: “I get it, I know what he’s trying to do, but what if someone has different plans? “I don’t think people should be forced into it, I think it should be the equivalent of like volunteering at a charity, if you want to do it, you should.
“Making it mandatory makes me not want to do it. Even the volunteering option, what.