Young people who turn down several jobs should be conscripted for two years, a senior Conservative MP has said.
Richard Drax, a member of the Commons defence select committee, argued younger jobseekers in particular were “not prepared to contribute to our country” and that drafting them into the Armed Forces could ease the worklessness crisis.
More than nine million people of working age have dropped out of the jobs market, with at least five million of those claiming benefits.
In January, Downing Street was forced to rule out conscription after the head of the Army warned that British civilians would need to fight Russia in the event of a war.
Mr Drax, a former Army captain, told The House magazine: “In some cases, particularly among some of the young, they have got to a point where, for whatever reason, they’re not prepared to contribute to our country and to serve their country.
“If they can’t be encouraged to do that, then maybe we’ve got to a point where they should be told to do so.
“And if they’ve refused three offers of a job, or whatever the number would be, and they say ‘I’m sorry, I’m not doing any of that’, you then say – in which case you must go and do two years in the Armed Forces.”
The MP for South Dorset went on to suggest young offenders could have their sentences shortened for good behaviour if they agreed to join the Army.
“Let’s say [a young person] has 10 pints of beer, slugs somebody and is locked up for it,” he said.
“If you get that sort of behaviour, you could, as a magistrate, say to these young men and women ‘you’ve got an option – if you’re a good boy or girl, you’ll come out, but you must do a year in the Armed Forces’.”
Mr Drax acknowledged that his ideas would not be readily accepted, but pointed to the huge number of casualties sustained by Ukrainian forces as proof of the need to bolster the size of the British Army.
The military has been reduced to its smallest size for centuries, prompting General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff, to warn British citizens to be prepared for a call-up if Nato went to war with Russia in comments that were promptly rejected by Downing Street.
Only seven per cent of those aged between 18 and 40 would volunteer for military service if a third world war broke out, YouGov polling found earlier in the year, rising to 11 per cent if the UK was under “imminent threat of invasion”.
In the first scenario, a further 21 per cent said they would not volunteer but would serve if called up, a number which increased to 23 per cent if the UK faced imminent threat.
Richard Drax, full name Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, is from the ancient aristocratic landowning family the Baronetcy of Dunsany; the second oldest peerage in Ireland, created 1462, aka one of the families responsible for the Great Famine. His great-uncle was Lord Dunsany, one of the early fantasy writers. Richard served as a Coldstream Guard, the personal bodyguards to Elizabeth II.
They were also a major slaveowning family in the colonies, were paid off to free all their slaves but still own all the plantations; afaik he is the only person to actually have Reparations demanded off him - Bermuda is suing him to the right to the plantations as he / his family have still been earning off them the entire time.
The Draxes have now pivoted into climate friendly business, rewilding their estates etc, but he keeps getting into trouble.
Workers in his wood pellet burning power station took him to court on charges the wood dust was giving them respiratory conditions, but the charges were dropped.
More recently there have been several pay strikes from workers. Coincidentally, Drax bought a bunch of robot dogs to perform safety patrols around the stations.
They've named this one Sparky.
They were also a major slaveowning family in the colonies, were paid off to free all their slaves but still own all the plantations; afaik he is the only person to actually have Reparations demanded off him - Bermuda is suing him to the right to the plantations as he / his family have still been earning off them the entire time.
The Draxes have now pivoted into climate friendly business, rewilding their estates etc, but he keeps getting into trouble.
Workers in his wood pellet burning power station took him to court on charges the wood dust was giving them respiratory conditions, but the charges were dropped.
More recently there have been several pay strikes from workers. Coincidentally, Drax bought a bunch of robot dogs to perform safety patrols around the stations.
They've named this one Sparky.
