STORY: :: Conservatives pledge national service
for 18-year-olds if they win July's UK election
:: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
:: Rishi Sunak via X
:: Published May 26, 2024
:: Sunak's party, in power since 2010, is lagging
behind in opinion polls
In a video posted by the Conservative Party on the social media platform X, Sunak said the mandatory service could be military or community-based as young adults could choose between spending one weekend a month volunteering over the course of a year, or take up one of 30,000 spaces to spend a year in the armed forces.
The announcement followed Labour Party leader Keir Starmer's comments on Saturday (May 23) that he was in favor of allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote.
Sunak's Conservatives lag Labour by a wide margin in opinion polls, which have shown little change in fortunes for the prime minister since his surprise election call last Wednesday (May 22).
