Conscription -should UK initiate?

Staff in a Hospital can not make a patient on a Hospital ward have a shower or a wash if they don't want one, as its against their Human Rights, so getting a young person into the services against their will? Not a hope.. Good.. Crazy idea!

Surely some kind of military service would bring about social cohesion regardless of religion and heritage? Although of course there has to be a will amongst the participants to make it work.

Allsorts Please can you explain that further about different religions and heritages? I didn't understand

Misinterpreted, Sonyou should be proud if your son, I thank goodness for people like him and those in RNLI. They do it because they are good people and genuinely want to help. However conscription would not work, so many different religions, different heritage who wouldn't want to be there, it wouldn’t work, it’s all or no one,

No, it violates free will, so technically a form of slavery

zakouma66

Maybe we could bring back the birch while we're at it?

That'll learn them.

I read this as tounge in cheek. Shame someone missed that and tried to ridicule you

Of course, I don't advocate bringing back the birch. Sorry for any confusion.

What a hideous idea, conscription to sort out the wheat from the chaff. The wheat won't be signing up anyway.

DS is serving in the Royal Navy. He is doing an engineering apprenticeship, travelling the world, having fabulous experiences and being paid for it. Yes it is disciplined and he could be put in harm's way but he loves it.

I don't think that a couple of years in the military for those who have nowhere to go at 16-18 is a bad thing. The first few months sorts out the wheat from the chaff.

Conscription is not the right word though. I see it more as further education.

Your prerogative.
I meant no harm, but take it as suits you to.

MissAdventure

Of course you're proud.
Anybody would be.

I wasn't referring to your son, specifically.

It's a broad and well used term.

It may be well used, but in my view, it's a term which says more about the person using it than those to whom it is supposed to refer.

*people

Same with dentistry- which has now become a BIG problem for this country.

I bet when higher education was totally free to all in Britain there were more young peopke signing up for medical degrees/nursing training.Now they simply cant afford it probably.

Maybe to train some as doctors & nurses free of charge? I would imagine it costs quite a bit to do years of training even in medical college.

I'm not saying that maybe some of the thugs with ASBO's could not benefit from National service returning- maybe they could- but conscription itself in general, for Every young person would be a terrible idea..In particular what about the growing number of young people who are on the autistic spectrum, or suffering from anxiety? How would they deal with those? Or the 'mildly' disabled who can still function? I doubt a ten minute check by an M.O could be enough to dismiss them from duty.It could all be a disaster, for them, their parents, and their country.

I think Zakouma56 was being SARCASTIC.?

No.

My pilot Uncles never returned from WW2, flak in the sky.

Of course you're proud.
Anybody would be.

I wasn't referring to your son, specifically.

It's a broad and well used term.

MissAdventure

I don't want my grandson turned into cannon fodder.

I'm very proud of my son and his service, which included tours of Afghanistan and Iraq. I would never stoop so low as to describe him or his fellow soldiers as 'cannon fodder'.

It's a big No from me. The eldest of my French cousins was going to come over to England to stay with our grandmother just before the Algerian war ended sometime early '60s, even though he avoided that, I think he still had to do conscription France kept that going long after Britain had shelved it.

How about recruiting some of these unemployed layabouts into our hospitals as doctors and nurses, or possible the legal profession could take them in as barristers and solicitors.

Great idea M0nica

How about recruiting some of these unemployed layabouts into our hospitals as doctors and nurses, or possible the legal profession could take them in as barristers and solicitors.

The defence of this country - or any country - nowadays depends on skilled and committed service people from every level from the newest recruited squaddy to Field Marshall. It shows profound ignorance and understanding of the complexities, not just of modern warfare, but also the extent that defence forces are used to deal with humanitarian and natural disasters world wide, that anyone would think that conscription would be a good idea.

Has there been any evidence based research into why 16-25 might be unemployed? I wonder how many of these people are neuro diverse or have health issues?

I know this isn’t what has been asked

zakouma66

Maybe we could bring back the birch while we're at it?

That'll learn them.

Don't be so ridiculous.

I'm in two minds about this. If you mean just 12 months national service, then there could be benefits all round. I guess it depends whether it becomes a military or social exercise. My French fiancé was called up in 1980, the training was strict, varied and in no uncertain manner "knocked the group into shape" while adding to their skills list. I don’t know if it provided the army with a source of long-term recruits, I don't think so because I'm sure France had to "borrow" army personnel during the first Gulf War. I think I remember a figure of around a third of the conscripts staying on to follow military careers at the time..
On the other hand, I totally get what others are saying here.