{"id":60128,"date":"2024-05-27T21:31:08","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T21:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/27\/national-service-young-people-respond-to-conservative-plan\/"},"modified":"2024-05-27T21:31:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T21:31:08","slug":"national-service-young-people-respond-to-conservative-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/27\/national-service-young-people-respond-to-conservative-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"National service: Young people respond to Conservative plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jade Marie Carnaje, 18, joined the air cadets in 2019<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Over the weekend the Conservatives launched an election pledge that got people talking – the idea of getting 18-year-olds to <\/b>take part in some form of national service<\/b><\/a> if they win in July. <\/b><\/p>\n

Labour says it’s nothing but a “desperate gimmick” but what do teenagers think of the idea?<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Eighteen-year-old Jade Marie Carnaje, an air cadet, said the national service plan was overall a “good idea”.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe benefits to young people outweigh the cons,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ms Carnaje, from Dagenham, east London, goes to air cadets twice a week. She said: \u201cWe do\u2026 a range of activities I would not have been able to do at school \u2013 it\u2019s definitely something that has changed my life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re encouraged to take up leadership positions at such a young age, it does help build up your confidence\u2026 there\u2019s definitely a side of me that thinks young people would benefit from this because they would gain skills,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

But she questioned why the government would spend an estimated \u00a32.5bn on the scheme. She said: \u201cThe main issue in my mind is: why now, amidst so many economic concerns in this country?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Samir Qurashi, from Camden in London, said he was worried the scheme would \u201chit working class young people the most”.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of 18-year-olds are working in order to fund our lives – including myself,\u201d he said, adding the requirement to work one day a month unpaid could limit weekend earnings. \u201cI need the money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

“Young people have clearly not been consulted on this at all,” he added.<\/p>\n

Mr Qurashi is a former youth MP – unlike adult members of Parliament they are not affiliated with a political party.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe needs of young people aren\u2019t being prioritised here. <\/p>\n

“Government cuts have seen the size of the Army fall. It does make me question why this is happening, and why young people are having to pay the price of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

“The government has stated it will cost around \u00a32.5bn and it makes me question first where that money is coming from, and how much that money could do for young people living in poverty,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the skills they\u2019ve mentioned<\/a> can be easily gained in a school or college environment. They should invest that money in schools and colleges.”<\/p>\n

Mr Qurashi, who wants to be a doctor, said: \u201cThey say young people are living in a bubble but there are so many young people who volunteer in so many different sectors – I volunteered at Moorfields Eye Hospital.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Samir Qurashi, 18, thinks the government should invest in education instead<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Meanwhile, 15-year-old Oscar Brooker, a member of the Young Conservatives in Manchester, said he was in favour of the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will give young people life skills and give them the chance to give back to the country – it will make people proud to be British,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Brooker, who is also an army cadet, said the scheme should not be mistaken for the reintroduction of military conscription.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be happy to do it – people presume it\u2019s all about the armed forces but it\u2019s not. It\u2019s also about the NHS and giving back to the community,” he said.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cPeople in my generation are trapped in a bubble, especially due to technology advancing\u2026 I feel like a lot of people in my generation are very glued to their mobiles, computer games and the TV.”<\/p>\n

Mr Brooker said of his experience as a cadet: \u201cI\u2019ve gained friendships but also a sense of pride that I\u2019m doing something: I feel positive. It\u2019s also getting you active and not just sitting down all the time, and gives you a sense of pride for your country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Oscar Brooker, 15, enjoys volunteering<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Sixteen-year-old Ayah Mamode doubts young people would “conform” with the scheme. <\/p>\n

“Rishi Sunak said it would bring a renewed sense of [national] pride, but young people don\u2019t feel honoured by this country,” she said.<\/p>\n

Teenagers might resist a year of service in the armed forces because \u201clots of young people don\u2019t agree with Britain\u2019s engagement with other countries\u201d, she added. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ayah Mamode, 16, is a non-partisan Youth MP for Kensington and Chelsea<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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But the aspiring journalist could see some benefits to the plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would bring about a lot of soft skills you wouldn\u2019t learn in schools,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

However, Ms Mamode thought the money pledged to the scheme could be better spent elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cYouth provisions are being underfunded\u2026 charities for young people are being shut down. <\/p>\n

“If you\u2019ve got that much money it shouldn\u2019t be [spent] on that one thing that benefits [politicians], it should be on bringing back services that benefit young people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Handout Jade Marie Carnaje, 18, joined the air cadets in 2019 Over the weekend the Conservatives launched an election pledge that got people talking – the idea of getting 18-year-olds to take part in some form of national service if they win in July. Labour says it’s nothing but a “desperate gimmick” but what do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[603],"tags":[9450,4372,124,736,27973,5807,1723],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60128"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60128"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60130,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60128\/revisions\/60130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}