Embattled British Conservative leader Rishi Sunak has had another of his patented brainstorms for a policy that will absolutely win his party huge numbers of “gammon” votes in the July 4th general election:
I thought the misty nostalgia for postwar “National Service” had died out long ago …
Here we go: straight off, let’s get the youth to do some indentured servitude, sorry, National Service.
The Sunday Times reports:
Every 18-year-old will be required by law to sign up for a year of National Service under plans unveiled by the Conservatives this weekend.
Rishi Sunak’s first manifesto commitment would see youngsters given the choice between a full-time course (for 12 months) or spending one weekend a month volunteering in their community. There will be sanctions for teenagers who do not take part. Up to 30,000 full-time positions will be created either in the armed forces or in cybersecurity training. The weekend placements could be with the fire or police service, the NHS or charities tackling loneliness and supporting older, isolated people.
The Tories have pledged to set up a royal commission to design the £2.5billion programme and establish details such as how the cybertraining would be delivered. A pilot will start next year and by the end of the parliament legislation will be passed making it mandatory for all 18-year-olds.
[…]
The Prime Minister says: “This new, mandatory National Service will provide life-changing opportunities for our young people, offering them the chance to learn real-world skills, do new things and contribute to their community and our country.” I doubt very much it will do this. The youth could learn real world skills in a weekend job that they’d actually get paid for but under Tory Rule they must become an indentured servant of the State instead.
It was floated that “the weekend placements could be with the fire or police service, the NHS or charities tackling loneliness and supporting older, isolated people”. Really? The fire and police service having to babysit some surly 17-year-old teenager glued to a mobile phone? Is this really what a police officer wants?
No doubt the vast majority of the youth will be dumped in some NHS hospital to do goodness knows what, or indeed a nursing home. And what about all the people who are currently off work and on anti-depressants “because of mental health”. Will they be forced to volunteer, or let off the requirement?
The British Conservatives appear to be even more useless and ridiculous than the American Repubs.
Comment by MBlanc46 — May 28, 2024 @ 10:16
I think of Rishi Sunak as Britain’s answer to former Canadian PM Kim Campbell, who took over a majority government from Brian Mulroney and ran such an incredibly bad campaign (not all her fault, to be fair, but she definitely made things worse for her party) that the Progressive Conservatives won all of two seats … and hers wasn’t one of those two. Sunak is being mocked in what passes for the right wing press as being devoted to the Net Zero project — Net Zero Seats, that is.
Comment by Nicholas — May 28, 2024 @ 10:30
And to prove that no idea is so bad that someone won’t want to implement it in Canada, here’s Tasha Kheiriddin plumping for a draft here in Canada to persuade Canadian youth that Canada is worth serving:
It’s certainly not clear to me how implementing indentured servitude will improve patriotism, but perhaps that’s why I’m not a conservative:
If this abomination did come to Canada, I’d advise my young relatives and their friends to avoid it at all cost. It’s not “volunteering” if you are forced to do it, as so many school kids learned when “volunteer hours” were added to the school curriculum and required for graduation. Get stuffed, Rishi and Tasha. Go peddle your communitarian bullshit somewhere else.
Comment by Nicholas — May 28, 2024 @ 19:33