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Younger royals, including Prince George and Princess Charlotte, will not be exempt from Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s plans to reinstate National Service.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has vowed to introduce a controversial scheme for 18-year-olds to create “new pride in our country” if he wins the general election.
The mandatory scheme gives teenagers the choice of either serving full-time in the military for 12 months or spending one weekend a month for a year volunteering in the community.
Labour slammed the announcement as “another desperate and underfunded promise” which would cost an estimated £2.5bn each year, while military veteran Justin Crump warned the “ill-thought-out” plans would place a “huge potential burden” on the UK’s armed forces.
Health Minister Wes Streeting has warned striking doctors that he will not meet their huge wage demands and has vowed to be a “workplace representative for patients” as Health Minister.
In an exclusive interview IndependentThe shadow health secretary spoke of plans to tackle record waiting lists and the ongoing pay dispute, saying the “NHS is not the envy of the world”.
Is National Service a preparation for war?
Foreign Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan this morning suggested plans to introduce National Service for school-leaving pupils were aimed at preparing the UK for war or other disasters.
She told Radio 4’s Today programme: “I’m a foreign office minister so I speak to people and visit the world all my life, and the world is a very unstable place. It’s never at a reassuring pace.”
“We need young people to understand and be part of our communities and this great country that is the UK, but we also need to make sure they are equipped with the skills and resilience because the world is not a safe place and freedom doesn’t come for free, and our country needs a secure future.”
“We need to make sure they have the skills they need.”
David MaddoxMay 27, 2024 07:52
Foreign Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has not ruled out the possibility of parents being fined if their adult children refuse to take part in the Conservative government’s proposed national service scheme.
She said the system would be compulsory, just like education and training, until the age of 18.
Asked by Times Radio whether parents would be prosecuted if their 18-year-old child refused to join the armed forces or volunteer work, she said: “I’m not going to write a detailed policy now. That’s what the Royal Commission’s work programme is for.”
Athena StavrouMay 27, 2024 07:33
Rachel Reeves promises no return to austerity under Labour government
Rachel Reeves promises no return to austerity under Labour government
Rachel Reeves has made it clear that there will be no income tax or national insurance increases if Labour wins this year’s general election. Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on 26 May, the shadow chancellor made it clear that there would be no “return to austerity” under a Labour government and that there would be no “unfunded proposals”. Reeves agrees with Sir Keir Starmer’s view that taxes should be low for workers. “We don’t want to cut public spending, which is why we’ve announced immediate funding for public services,” she added.
Holly EvansMay 27, 2024 07:00
Liberal Democrats getting ‘best response in a generation’, leader says
Sir Ed Davey said the Liberal Democrats were receiving the best response from voters “in a generation” ahead of the general election.
He also criticised Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and other Conservative MPs for taking voters “for granted”.
Speaking at the Liberal Democrats’ election campaign launch in Cambridgeshire, Sir Ed told the PA news agency: “I’m not putting a cap on our ambitions.”
“All I’m doing is speaking to voters with my team across the country, and the Lib Dems are getting a fantastic response – a better response than we’ve had for a generation.”
“I was elected in 1997 and this election is a lot like that. I’m not worried about the other party. I’m just excited about the work we’re doing and excited about change.”
Holly EvansMay 27, 2024 06:00
Is Sunak’s election campaign the worst ever?
The Prime Minister turned up soaking wet to his inauguration in Downing Street, drowned out by Blair’s victory anthem, MPs fled the battlefield and the Prime Minister visited the Titanic museum – just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for Rishi Sunak, they did. Is this the start of the worst election campaign in history?
Those with distant memories will recall Michael Foot’s 1983 election campaign manifesto, when he ran for Labour, which the late Gerald Kaufman described as “the longest suicide note in history”.
But what goes down as the worst election campaign in history, in which Labour was all but destroyed, may have found its equal in disastrous miscalculation and farce.
Read the full analysis by Political Editor David Maddox here.
Holly EvansMay 27, 2024 05:30
Labour and Conservative parties at odds over security after NSW announcement
Labour and the Conservatives are set to clash over security as the general election enters its first week of campaigning after the Conservatives announced plans to introduce a national service.
In a keynote speech ahead of polling day, Sir Keir Starmer will say “economic security, border security and national security” will be the “cornerstone” of his party’s manifesto.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak will reinforce the message that the Conservatives will take “bold action” to deliver “a secure future for the next generation”.
The Conservative Party announced that if it is re-elected on July 4th, it will make all 18-year-olds do a kind of “compulsory” national service.
Under the proposal, teenagers would be given the choice of either serving in the military for 12 months or “volunteering” in the community one weekend a month for a year.
Holly EvansMay 27, 2024 05:00
Wes Streeting’s three words on Labour governance
Wes Streeting has laid out his three-word vision for what Labour’s government would be if, as expected, it wins power on July 4th.
The shadow health secretary was reminiscent of Tony Blair’s New Labour in promising that his party would be “compensatory, not extractive”.
Streeting said: IndependentEditor-in-chief Geordie Greig speaks to the Hay Festival crowd about the election, politics and his book One boy, two bills, and a fry-up.
Read the full article by Political Editor David Maddox here.
Holly EvansMay 27, 2024 04:30
Is the Labour Party trying to rig the electoral system by planning to give 16-year-olds the vote?
While much of the election debate has been about the personalities of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, their economic plans and proposals to tackle the migration crisis, there are other serious underlying issues at stake.
One of these is the reform of the electoral and political systems that Starmer is pushing for.
The Labour leader has previously expressed a desire to replace the House of Lords with an elected parliament, but has since backtracked. Going into this election, he made one of his clear policy pledges to give 16-year-olds the right to vote. He is also considering giving the right to vote to EU citizens who are not British citizens.
Read the full analysis by Political Editor David Maddox here.
Holly EvansMay 27, 2024 04:00
Reeves says there will be “no return to austerity” under a Labour government
Holly EvansMay 27, 2024 03:30
Three days ago, the minister said there were “no plans” for a national service policy.
Defence Minister Andrew Mallison told a parliamentary question there were “no plans” to introduce the controversial policy.
The MP, who represents South West Wiltshire, added that morale could be damaged if “potentially unwilling” recruits were forced to serve alongside army personnel.
Read the full article here:
Holly EvansMay 27, 2024 03:00
