The c-word – conscription – once a dirty word in Britain, is back in debate after Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, warned that Europe must brace for a war on a scale ‘our grandparents and great-grandparents endured’.
Only hours later UK’s armed forces minister, Al Carns, said the country is nearing a conflict and that the ‘shadow of war was at Europe’s door.’
This has triggered a question: could the UK be next to join the bandwagon in Europe, and introduce conscription, amid a growing threat from Russia?
Since 1963, compulsory military service has been a relic in the country – an artifact of a different era. Attitudes towards the practice have also dropped
A return would be a major political step – and one that is unlikely to happen under the current Labour government.
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But as Europe rearms at a pace unseen since the Cold War, some see it as an answer to the UK’s needs in preparation for long war in the next decade.
Could conscription return to Britain?
Currently, the British Army totals a little more than 181,000 people, mostly made up by full-time service personnel and Gurkhas, who comprise 77.7%, and volunteer reserves (17.5%).
Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now almost into its fourth year, this question always evoked a resounding ‘no’ from Army and government officials.
But the changing security situation on the continent seems to be pushing for further debate.
So far, the government has not brought the question into debate and most military generals have said conscription would not be needed in the event of a war, hoping that even a small percent of volunteers would do the job.
Even more, some defence experts argue that conscription would actually undermine the expansion of the UK’s armed forces quickly, in the short-to-medium term.
A RUSI report by Dr Sidharth Kaushal and Paul O’Neill CBE, from May 2024, said: ‘Since the Cold War’s end, the number of people and bases, capacity of the training estate and the amount of accommodation and equipment have been drastically reduced to match the expected demand the Services place on society to fill their ranks.
‘The capacity/demand equation is very closely balanced, and even training 70 Ukrainian engineers at short notice required cuts to planned training for regular UK service personnel.
‘Given current capacity, opening the floodgates to national service would impact on the training of the far more ready regular and reserve forces that the UK needs for its first and second echelons.
‘Moreover, growing the capacity of the training system for conscription would require significant investment to reverse decades of choices and to optimise for efficiency, and it will probably take almost as long to recover resilience, even with extra funds.’
Should Britain bring back mandatory military service?
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Yes
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No
When did Britain scrap conscription and why?
The simple answers are expense, the changing face of modern warfare and popularity.
Conscription has only operated for two periods in the 20th century – from 1916 to 1920, and from 1939 to 1960.
1963 marked the end to an era in the UK, when the last serviceman in the Armed Forces was discharged after being conscripted.
National service continued after World War II, meaning that all eligible men were required to serve for up to two years in the UK and around the world.
After the end of the war, the military was moving towards a smaller, more technologically advanced, and professional volunteer force.
Conscription was deemed less effective and too expensive at a time when the country suffered from mass labour shortages.
What was the UK’s age for conscription?
During war time, in 1942, British men aged 18 to 51 and British women aged 20 to 30 were called up, with some exceptions, including students, emergency service workers, people who were blind or were classed as disabled and married women.
However from 1949, healthy men from 17 to 21 were requested to serve in the armed forces for 18 months and stay on the reserve list for four years.
From 1957, National Service was phased out gradually.
Which European countries have reintroduced conscription?
France became the first major European heavyweight to reinstate military service – a prospect that feels uncomfortably close to home.
After a hiatus of nearly 30 years, Emmanuel Macron announced the measure – a voluntary 10-month stint – at Varces army base in the French Alps.
The plan is to beef up the country’s military to 3,000 in the first year – and up to 50,000 later on.
But France is not the only European nation bolstering military capabilities – and its approach is seen as much lighter than in many Nordic and Baltic states, where service is compulsory.
Latvia and Croatia are the two most recent EU countries to reintroduce an obligatory term in the ranks.
Meanwhile, the Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has said his government is moving to prepare large-scale military training for every adult male.
Germany is also redoubling its efforts to attract more recruits, notably via a new voluntary military service.
But the plan remains to be approved by parliament.
Meanwhile, Belgium’s defence minister sent a letter this month to 17-year-olds to encourage them to sign up for military service next year, with the aim to select 500 candidates between 18 and 25 to launch the program in September.
Altogether, 10 EU countries have compulsory military service: Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden.
Norway, which is not a member, has mandatory military service for men and women.
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