Compulsory national service will forge shared values and pull us together to boost our resilience against future shocks

WHEN the miracle vaccine landed to lift us out of the darkness of the pandemic, the NHS needed an entire squadron of vaccinators.

The Sun led the Jabs Army campaign and thousands of heroes helped get our country back on its feet.

It was an amazing effort, a moment of Blitz spirit to save lives and serve our country.

We have made progress after the shocks of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The economy is stabilised and back to growth, but young Brits are growing up in a more uncertain, more unstable world than previous generations.

Russia has started a war on the European continent.

Iran’s proxies are firing at British ships in the Red Sea.

China is conducting cyber-attacks.

And technology is changing our society at a dizzying speed, leaving young people uncertain about the future and bombarded with enviable images of their peers’ lives online.

It’s having a profound effect on their well-being, sense of belonging and ability to find a purpose.

Over 15 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds are not in education or employment.

One in four young people wouldn’t consider being friends with someone who supports a political party they don’t like.

We must urgently reverse the trends of disengagement and division.

We need to regain the sense of duty from the Jabs Army, make our country more secure and forge a stronger national culture.

That’s why a Conservative government would reinvent compulsory National Service for all 18-year-olds.

Teens can apply to a year-long placement in the Armed Forces or cyber-defence, gaining life-changing expertise and boosting our ranks of engineers and military personnel.

Those that don’t want to do military service will build up skills by volunteering in civic roles, such as a local first aider or supporting flood defences.

Compulsory National Service will forge shared values, pull us together and develop critical skills of younger generations.

Conservatives know what a great country we are, the best country in the world, in fact, but we need to boost our resilience against future shocks.

We also need to protect British values, of generosity, duty and patriotism, because it’s our values that make us great.

We did it before and with a Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak, we can do it again now.