Britain has been urged to confront a once-taboo question: whether it should be prepared to reintroduce national service if an escalating international crisis becomes a wider war.
As tensions involving Russia and China sharpen concerns about European security, NATO’s collective defence commitments are under renewed scrutiny. Under Article 5, an armed attack against one NATO member is treated as an attack against all, raising the prospect that Britain could be drawn into a major conflict.
The government has ruled out compulsory military service, but defence researchers argue that the country should be more open to discussing how its population would respond if the threat to national security deteriorated sharply.
A House of Commons research briefing highlights a 2020 RAND study by Professor Hew Strachan that examined the relationship between military force, public understanding, and national resilience.
Strachan argued that Britain could learn from European countries where citizens have a clearer role in preparing for hostile attacks, including Finland and Estonia.
“National service is the most obvious tool to achieve this effect, and in Finland almost every member of society has an assigned role in case of hostile attack,” he wrote.
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His assessment points to a broader challenge facing Britain: whether a professional military, however capable, can provide sufficient resilience without deeper public participation in national defence.
“Britain has established a near-universal and almost impermeable consensus against even discussing national service,” Strachan added.
Last week, General Sir Roly Walker’s call for a “frank conversation” reflects a starkening assessment of the security environment confronting the UK, where military preparedness is becoming a national priority after years when the prospect of a major European conflict seemed remote to much of the public.
The challenge, however, extends beyond recruiting soldiers or replenishing weapons stockpiles.
It concerns whether politicians can persuade voters to accept the financial, social and potentially personal costs of preparing for a more dangerous world.
“You didn’t know this, but our nation is going to need you,” Walker told soldiers. “There was a time when our nation didn’t want to think of a time when it would need its soldiers to fight in a war.”
He suggested that period of strategic complacency may be drawing to a close.
“Indeed, very soon, the political leaders of this country will start to have a frank conversation with the citizens of this country about just what is going on and where the risk lies,” he said.
“They are going to try to explain to our citizens that they have to consent to sacrifices to prioritise defence and security.”
That reluctance could become increasingly difficult to sustain if European security deteriorates. Preparing for a major conflict would involve more than increasing military spending or expanding weapons production. It would also require decisions about civilian preparedness, essential services and the responsibilities citizens might assume during a national emergency.
One proposal from the Centre for Social Justice think tank suggests an optional, selective national service scheme for 18-year-olds. Under the proposed Army Short Service Limited Commission, participants would spend 12 months in the Army at an apprenticeship rate of pay, the Express reported.
The organisation said the scheme, modelled on Norway’s national service system, would “provide an opportunity to gain skills, travel the country and grow a sense of active citizenship and belonging”.
Such a model would differ fundamentally from compulsory conscription. Rather than requiring an entire generation to serve, it would offer a route into military life while potentially widening the pool of people with defence-related experience.
For now, ministers remain committed to a volunteer-based armed forces model.
Defence Minister Lord Coaker said in September: “This Government has no current plans for compulsory military service. Since 1963, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the best way of providing for the defence of our country is by maintaining professional Armed Forces which are manned by volunteers.”
The government is instead pursuing voluntary initiatives intended to familiarise younger people with military life and develop skills relevant to national security.
“Through this combination of military experience, engagement, education, skills development and voluntary service opportunities, defence is already helping more young people understand the role of the Armed Forces, experience Service life, develop valuable skills, and explore opportunities to contribute to national security and public service,” Coaker said.
The distinction between voluntary service and conscription remains politically significant. Compulsory service would profoundly intervene in citizens’ lives, raising questions about individual liberty, fairness, cost, and the appropriate limits of state power.
Yet the debate is no longer simply about whether Britain should restore national service. It is about whether the country has adequately considered the demands that a major international conflict could place on society.
No current government plan calls for conscription, and the prospect of a wider war does not make it inevitable. But as military threats evolve, defence experts are finding it harder to dismiss the question; if Britain faced a serious national emergency, would its citizens be prepared for the role they might be asked to play?
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