Bye Bye Sunak..

[Gavster]

Rishi’s national service policy is a master stroke. Honestly believe that it could win him a lot of votes. The young people who are more likely to oppose the policy are also the ones not voting. But the irony is that anyone who is old enough to vote is already past the point of being enrolled in national service anyway.

[IanF]

[ZedLeg]

Rishi’s national service policy is a master stroke. Honestly believe that it could win him a lot of votes. The young people who are more likely to oppose the policy are also the ones not voting. But the irony is that anyone who is old enough to vote is already past the point of being enrolled in national service anyway.

His national service policy that will be enforced unless it’s not, paid unless it’s not and serving the military unless it’s not.

Perfectly clear policy making again

[Rich B]

Rishi’s national service policy is a master stroke. Honestly believe that it could win him a lot of votes. The young people who are more likely to oppose the policy are also the ones not voting. But the irony is that anyone who is old enough to vote is already past the point of being enrolled in national service anyway.

or community service once a month. Kind of reminds me of the "maths to 18" thing they made a big thing of - has that happened yet?

[Beany]

I don't even think it's a real policy proposal, I think they're just trying to maintain engagement and drown out other voices on social media.

[Mito Man]

It’s a stupid idea, probably just to boost the pathetic armed forces count. 2 types of people at 18 - those who are going straight to a job/apprenticeship and those who are going to uni. (Ok there’s a very small minority of gap year soul searchers too). Not sure any of them would like to piss away an entire year.

[V8Granite]

I don’t think people would piss away a whole year, I think it would be good for most people.

It’s stupid though as the U.K. has a really well regarded professional military full of people who want to be there. I don’t see how taking time away from the professionals and putting it towards people who don’t want to be there can benefit the group as a whole ?

Dave!

[duncs500]

Really weird policy, I can only assume that statistics have told them it's worth more votes than it loses.

I don't think the principle of trying to engage young people is a bad one, but I don't think this is the way.

[Jobbo]

I don’t think people would piss away a whole year, I think it would be good for most people.

It’s stupid though as the U.K. has a really well regarded professional military full of people who want to be there. I don’t see how taking time away from the professionals and putting it towards people who don’t want to be there can benefit the group as a whole ?

Dave!

Absolutely right. They could always conscript in the event of war.

National Service still applied in Greece when I was in my 20s (and may still - I’ve not checked). One of the solicitors I trained with in London was a Greek national but had lived in the U.K. pretty much all his life. He mentioned that he’d been able to put off his 2 years’ compulsory service to study and get his professional qualification but couldn’t forever. He did go back to Greece and do it in the 2000s. Seems shitty to delay a professional career and make someone come back from a different country to do it.

Now it would have to apply to all genders for equality of course, so it could end up being like a club 18-30 holiday Which is potentially a better outcome than the bullying and suicides that we hear about far too often.

Oh, and this isn’t a serious policy of course. It’s Rishi being desperate to say something. Anything.

[Rich B]

Yeah, it's a headline grabber.

- Young people won't want it but don't vote anyway. Then if it was voted in The ones who'd turn up wouldn't need it, and the ones who need it wouldn't turn up for it.

- Middle aged people wouldn't want it for their kids. I certainly wouldn't want my kid to be near the military unless they actively wanted to.

- the old are already voting the way they always have.

[Beany]

https://newsthump.com/2024/05/27/care-w ... -for-free/

Meanwhile, the nation’s current crop of 18-year-olds has reacted with precisely the amount of enthusiasm you’d expect at the prospect of an unplanned year in the military or an unpaid weekend every month spent picking litter, cleaning hospitals or wiping arses.

Jake Williams told us, “Care work, cleaning and the military are all honourable jobs that should be respected. So instead of filling vacancies with free labour, how about you make the wages attractive enough to actually entice people like me into those vocations? That is, after all, how this government believes the market should work, right?

“But what do I know, I’m just a young man about to be forced into servitude so a bunch of 70-year-old voters can maintain an erection.”

[Swervin_Mervin]

It's a bit of a desperate suggestion isn't it? I can't imagine they're remotely serious about it and it's purely to grab a few gammon votes.

But I was surprised to read just how many countries still have military service. All the Scandi ones AFAIK - those that many on the left look towards as an example of progressive societies.

Be interested to hear @DeskJockey 's thoughts on it. In general that is, not on the nonsense proposed by Sunak

[duncs500]

Greece still does, one of my Greek colleagues can only spend a limited number of days in Greece each year in order to avoid it. I think it expires at a certain age and he can then go back for longer.

[Jobbo]

https://newsthump.com/2024/05/27/care-w ... -for-free/

Meanwhile, the nation’s current crop of 18-year-olds has reacted with precisely the amount of enthusiasm you’d expect at the prospect of an unplanned year in the military or an unpaid weekend every month spent picking litter, cleaning hospitals or wiping arses.

Jake Williams told us, “Care work, cleaning and the military are all honourable jobs that should be respected. So instead of filling vacancies with free labour, how about you make the wages attractive enough to actually entice people like me into those vocations? That is, after all, how this government believes the market should work, right?

“But what do I know, I’m just a young man about to be forced into servitude so a bunch of 70-year-old voters can maintain an erection.”

Isn’t Newsthump supposed to be satire? That’s just straightforwardly true, sadly.

[Mito Man]

It’s all an attempt to get free labour probably because all the very cheap labour fvcked off during Brexit and there’s a shortage in these “honourable jobs”. Look at how it’s weighed. A whole year of military service vs 24 days of volunteering.
Almost every single person will end up picking the latter.

[Sundayjumper]

A good thread on a lot of the practical problems such a plan would face:

[Simon]

New one today - they'll fine the parents of those not turning up for their 'mandatory volunteering' - which is a clever one, as the people in question are FUCKING ADULTS themselves. Give me strength.

I think conservative central office knows they are going down and so are having bets amongst themselves over who can get the most ridiculous policy suggestion onto the front page just for a laugh.

[duncs500]

I thought I'd try to migrate the VAT on private schools chat over here.

We're in the winter 24/25 application for a school and I'm already stressed about it. Our local primary school in the village has more than 3x more applications than places and it's the only one that is realistically viable for us... and they keep on building more houses (many of which will be full of families by the winter).

I've thought about the local private school as a back up, it would be a stretch for us, but we could do it; out of the question with a 20% increase though. My guess is we live in the sort of area where people are at a similar level to us, so I can see a big increase in pupils for the local state schools to deal with.

The only other person I have discussed it with in person is my sister, she has three kids and they've basically been saving/grafting for the last 10 years in order to send them to a private senior school (London, so state schools are a challenge). 20% increase for three kids is going to be a huge problem for them.

This is a policy that will affect kids anywhere but the poorest areas, whether in state or private education IMO.

The planning system is either fucked or corrupt because any lip service given to enhancing schools capacity falls by the wayside.

I just don't see how the system is going to cope with it. They'd need to invest more in the education system first IMO. At the moment the private sector is helping keep the state sector from collapse it seems to me.

[ZedLeg]

I agree with VAT on private school fees tbh, I also think we should be spending much more on education though.

Just more posturing from the magic money tree leftist

[Rich B]

I don't think it's a simple question and I don't think it should be "fixed" with a simple solution. I don't think that all private schools should have charitable status, but I also think that some, like private special needs schools should.

I don't think that we should be subsidising the likes of Eton and Harrow with their £60k a term fees, but I also understand putting 15% on a decent £5k a term private school is going to hurt people.

Personally, I think it should be phased in over 5 years, giving the schools a chance to make the appropriate cuts required. The reality is, this conservative gov has left the rest of the education system so underfunded that teachers have to buy their own stationary - I don't think it's unreasonable that private schools need to tighten their belts a little to help balance it.

However, private schools are a business - and you can't expect a business to make that big a change in one hit.