General UK politics VII -Return of the Starmer

[Planigale]

It's not rocket science.

It's politically very bad to send conscripts to fight, imagine if there were conscripts for the invasion of Iraq.

So what would they do.

In fact what would they be able to do anyway?

In Scotland we keep being told how wonderful all things Scandi are, but this does not seem to include national service. Many other countries seem to manage.

If having conscripts reduces the risk of getting into wars that seems a good thing?

Combat infantry training currently takes 6 months, if followed up by reserve duties that would give an ability to rapidly expand units in the event of an emergency.

I think that the health and care services could accept conscripts also.

Interestingly dentists are being effectively threatened with conscription. They will have to do four years in the NHS or have to pay the full costs of their training.

I could also see an option for doing national service post degree e.g. in schools, policing support, those with sociology and criminology degrees could do national service working in prisons! Lawyers could do service in crown prosecution or public defenders offices.

The reward might be remission of university debt.

The problem is making sure that these posts are additions and do not displace
'regulars'.

 

[Darat]

I doubt the Tories have given it even as much thought as you have for that single post.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

I'm trying to start a Twitter rumour that Sunak's campaign anthem is LL Cool J's "Going Back to Cali"

 

[Filippo Lippi]

I see you and raise you

 

[jimbob]

In Scotland we keep being told how wonderful all things Scandi are, but this does not seem to include national service. Many other countries seem to manage.

If having conscripts reduces the risk of getting into wars that seems a good thing?

Combat infantry training currently takes 6 months, if followed up by reserve duties that would give an ability to rapidly expand units in the event of an emergency.

I think that the health and care services could accept conscripts also.

Interestingly dentists are being effectively threatened with conscription. They will have to do four years in the NHS or have to pay the full costs of their training.

I could also see an option for doing national service post degree e.g. in schools, policing support, those with sociology and criminology degrees could do national service working in prisons! Lawyers could do service in crown prosecution or public defenders offices.

The reward might be remission of university debt.

The problem is making sure that these posts are additions and do not displace
'regulars'.

That is not conscription.

The proposal *currently seems* to be to have 30k join the army, and the remaining 670k doing unpaid work.

 

[Explorer]

Cleverly said there will be sanctions for those youths who do not comply with one weekend in four for a year, doing community service. The sanction imposed apparently, is going to be one week in four doing community service.

Out of touch Sunak, should be forced to spend one weekend in four with an ordinary working family for a year, to understand how they live, think, and feel.

 

[Mojo]

Cleverly said there will be sanctions for those youths who do not comply with one weekend in four for a year, doing community service. The sanction imposed apparently, is going to be one week in four doing community service.

Out of touch Sunak, should be forced to spend one weekend in four with an ordinary working family for a year, to understand how they live, think, and feel.

He won't get it.

 

[Darat]

So let's say an 18 year old leaves education, gets a job in a local supermarket and they work 40+ hours a week, they are then expected to work their weekends? It is so telling by the way that they mention "weekends" as if everyone has weekends off.

 

[Filippo Lippi]

They haven't thought it through as there's no need to think it through

 

[The Don]

So let's say an 18 year old leaves education, gets a job in a local supermarket and they work 40+ hours a week, they are then expected to work their weekends? It is so telling by the way that they mention "weekends" as if everyone has weekends off.

And what a "boon" for public services to have 150,000 untrained, unskilled and unmotivated people turn up on two days when those public services are understaffed.

 

[Carrot Flower King]

I'm trying to start a Twitter rumour that Sunak's campaign anthem is LL Cool J's "Going Back to Cali"

Showing my age, but I've been thinking of Led Zeppelin's Going To California for several days now. Alternating with Radiohead's Electioneering.

 

[Carrot Flower King]

This "volunteer" or conscription thing was sometimes brought up by NHS managers during my last job, which always produced a huge sigh from me followed by a detailed explanation of how and why it would take qualified staff (always nurses) away from normal clinical duties, which already included supervising nursing students on placement, thus increasing waiting times, worsening care delivery and all.

NB This was a specialist community service in which all clinicians of whatever discipline were autonomous practitioners, caarrying their own caseload. That said, I couldn't see how it would work on a ward for similar reasons.

This did not stop the suggestion coming around every few years, though, and I was always "knee jerk negative" for opposing it for the 94th time...

 

[Carrot Flower King]

70s

So someone who never did National Service then? But should remember their father talking about how ridiculous most of it was.

I think my dad was one of the lucky ones who got some useful experience - medical orderly in the Navy, especially at Leith, which helped him get on to physio training. But he still reckoned a lot of it was nonsense. CFQ's dad learned how to paint rocks around the edge of the courtyard white, mainly confirming his dislike of arbitrary imposition of "discipline".

 

[zooterkin]

I saw someone on Facebook arguing that 'boomers' would be in favour of National Service for teenagers. I'm not sure why that follows, when none of them would have done it themselves.

And when pressed for a justification that this policy was aimed at boomers, this person produced a 6 point list, which they cheerfully confessed they had requested from ChatGPT to save them the 'emotional labour' of justifying their original statement themselves.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister for the Indo-Pacific, said on the radio today that parents would be fined if their 'children' didn't do their service.

She does know that she's talking about 18 year olds?

 

[Andy_Ross]

Tory talking heads and central office have been trying to brand Starmerh as "Sleepy Starmer" and say he's low energy and hasn't got the stamina for the campaign or the energy to lead the country.

 

[jimbob]

Tory talking heads and central office have been trying to brand Starmerh as "Sleepy Starmer" and say he's low energy and hasn't got the stamina for the campaign or the energy to lead the country.

Every accusation is a confession.

Sunak had a rest day on day 3

 

[The Don]

Tory talking heads and central office have been trying to brand Starmerh as "Sleepy Starmer" and say he's low energy and hasn't got the stamina for the campaign or the energy to lead the country.

I guess now they're not even pretending that they're not slavishly mimicking Trump and the GOP.

What's next ? Claiming that Keir is too old or references to the "Starmer crime family" ?

 

[P.J. Denyer]

They haven't thought it through as there's no need to think it through

They haven't thought it through because there's no-one left in the party capable of thinking past a Daily Mail headline.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister for the Indo-Pacific, said on the radio today that parents would be fined if their 'children' didn't do their service.

She does know that she's talking about 18 year olds?

I thought it was quite cruel of them to send her a fish eye web cam.