Britons who refuse to comply with any future military conscription could face substantial financial penalties rather than prison, according to historian and author David Swift, as renewed concerns over the threat from Russia fuel debate about Britain’s military preparedness.
Fears that the UK could eventually be forced to introduce compulsory military service have intensified following a series of warnings over the possibility of Russian action against British interests.
One of Vladimir Putin’s advisers recently said he could not “100% exclude” the possibility of “semi-military” action against British facilities, after the UK provided Ukraine with blueprints relating to the production of Storm Shadow missiles.
A UK security source has separately said Russia is “preparing something”, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham has described a potential Russian attack as “inevitable”.
Any major conflict could intensify pressure on the government to expand the armed forces and reserves. The British Army has fallen to about 74,000 full-time personnel, its smallest size since the early 19th century, according to the figures cited.
Conscription — compulsory enlistment into military service — has only been used twice in Britain during the past 126 years. The first system operated from 1916 to 1920, while the second lasted from 1939 until 1960.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr Swift said a future system could rely on financial penalties to encourage compliance, rather than criminal sanctions.
“I imagine it would be fines rather than imprisonment or anything like that, due to: 1. Lack of prison capacity. 2. Difficulty enforcing and lack of legitimacy and 3. That ‘conscription’, if introduced, would be very much focused around monetary reward.”
The scale of any penalties would be crucial. If fines were too low, potential conscripts could simply regard them as the price of avoiding service.
Mr Swift pointed to Greece as one possible model. The Greek government has previously imposed a €6,000 (£5,213.19) fine for failing to register for military service, although the country debated abolishing the penalty altogether in 2019.
The Greek embassy in London was approached for comment but did not respond.
Mr Swift also highlighted Switzerland, where citizens who refuse military service can face a tax penalty for the period during which they would otherwise have been required to undertake military training.
“In Switzerland, you have to pay an additional three percent in taxes if you refuse military service for the duration of the time you were meant to be in military training.
“This way, the fines are severe enough so that they present a genuine disincentive not to serve (if it was only a few hundred quid you would have lots of people opting out), but not as severe as imprisonment.”
The prospect of compulsory service has periodically resurfaced as European governments reassess their defence requirements following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In 2024, former head of the British Army General Sir Patrick Sanders called for the UK to begin preparing for “national mobilisation” and a “citizen army” in response to the threat posed by Russia.
The proposal was rejected by Downing Street. A spokesperson for then-prime minister Rishi Sunak said the government had “no intention” of introducing conscription, a position subsequently reiterated by Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden in March 2025.
Ministers have instead maintained that Britain’s security is best protected by a professional, highly trained military based on volunteers rather than compulsory service.
For now, there is no government policy to introduce conscription. But the renewed discussion highlights the pressures facing Britain’s armed forces as the security environment in Europe becomes more uncertain.
Should compulsory service ever be introduced, Mr Swift’s analysis suggests that refusing to serve could carry a significant financial cost — potentially designed to make opting out considerably more painful than simply paying a modest administrative fine.
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