The UK government is facing mounting pressure to consider reintroducing conscription, sparking concerns among British citizens about the possibility of being called up for military service.
With global conflicts escalating and tensions rising, discussions about bolstering the UK’s armed forces through mandatory service have gained traction. The British Army’s ranks have dwindled to just over 72,000 regular personnel, the smallest since the Napoleonic Wars, raising alarm among national security officials.
In February, Mike Martin, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells, warned of the growing likelihood of UK involvement in war. “There’s certainly more than a 50% chance we’ll be involved in a war before 2030,” he stated.
Concerns have been amplified by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s wavering stance on Ukraine. His recent disagreements with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reduced military support for Ukraine have heightened fears that Europe can no longer rely solely on American security guarantees. Putin’s rejection of a ceasefire deal has further fueled calls from military leaders for the UK government to consider conscription.
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former chief of the British Army’s Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Regiment, urged the government to keep all options open. “The government should rule nothing out at the moment. I can’t see how an army of just 70,000 is going to be able to deter Russia in the long term and maintain the mass it needs. If you look at the size of our regular Army, it’s tiny, and they’d find it difficult to deploy a brigade for any period of time,” he told The Sun.
Sir Richard Shirreff, NATO’s former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, echoed the sentiment, suggesting the UK may need to “think the unthinkable” and implement a “selective” draft, similar to those in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The UK has not had conscription since National Service ended in 1963.
During World War II, as Hitler’s forces advanced into Poland, conscription was expanded to include men aged 18 to 41. By the end of 1941, women and childless widows aged 20 to 30 were also called up, and the male age range extended to 51.
However, Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed the idea during an interview on The News Agents podcast, stating firmly, “Nobody is talking about conscription,” and making it clear that such discussions “never crossed my lips.”
