THE Conservative plan to re-introduce national service would have to be approved by a Royal Commission and would not come into effect until 2029, a minister has said.
Foreign Office Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP told GB News: “As the Prime Minister has set out we will, if we were fortunate enough to be re-elected - there’s a pilot running in 2025.
“But there would be a Royal Commission, because bringing in a new law, a National Service Act, obviously will have a complexity to it, which will require all those issues being looked at fully…
“So that's what the Royal Commission is for and the policy aim is for this to be fully in action by 2029.”
She continued: “We have got to make sure that we have young people who are strong and resilient, who understand why it is that we are such an amazing country and that is in large part because we have incredible freedom, of speech, of liberty, all of those things.
“The rest of the world is in a really rough place at the moment znd we've got to make sure and that's the work that we do through NATO, the incredible leadership that the UK shows, why it is that we believe these things are important to stand up.
“So I'm only surprised by anyone who thinks that those values, defending those values, ensuring that young people are resilient as individuals and as part of a community is something that they would think isn't a good thing. I find that very disappointing on their part actually.”
She added: “Our first Gambit in this election is to set out very clearly the Prime Minister's absolutely central commitment, which is to our young people, to the next generation, to the security and resilience of their future in this country.
“And as I say, as a minister who spends their time around the world seeing where horrible instability and anxiety is developing, I absolutely support that.
“We want our young people, a small portion of them, to have the opportunity to do a year’s commission in the armed forces, but for the vast majority, the opportunity to get involved in local community activities and help build the communities that they are part of and will be part of the rest of their lives too.”
