Sunak’s National Service Plan Faces Funding and Enforcement Questions
- Home secretary says those who skip service won’t face charges
- Labour’s Rachel Reeves dismisses plan as unfunded ‘gimmick’
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s campaign promise to revive national service for young Britons came under immediate scrutiny over how the £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) plan would be funded and enforced.
While Sunak captured the front pages of British newspapers with his surprise call to compel 18-year-olds into military or community service, his home secretary, James Cleverly, acknowledged hours later that those who skip out won’t face criminal charges. The admission raised questions about how the Conservatives will enforce the program if they managed to overcome a significant poll gap and beat Labour in the general election on July 4.