Conscription age in UK ranges as WW3 fears rise over Ukraine

Keir Starmer has been urged to consider reintroducing conscription by former British Army commanders as the Ukraine crisis deepends - here's what you need to know.

The Prime Minister has been urged to think about the return of conscription - leaving many people wonder whether they'd be called up to fight.

Britain's gradual decrease of soldiers have raised alarm among national security experts, with one former commander warning that the country would be effectively defenceless if Vladimir Putin launched a direct attack. After significant cuts to the MoD that began in 2010, just over 72,000 regular forces personnel are currently serving in the British Army - the lowest number since the Napoleonic Wars, reports the Mirror.

One proposed a solution to this decline has been to reintroduce conscription, requiring ordinary citizens to undergo compulsory military training and remain on 'standby' for potential deployment. Several other countries in Europe do it, including Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, but the UK hasn't had any form of conscription since National Service ended in 1963. Here, we answer some questions about conscription and what it would mean for you:

How old would conscripts be?

Britain introduced conscription in the months leading up to World War II. It saw single men aged 20 to 22 requiring six months of military training, with 240,000 called up. When war was officially declared, following Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland, the draft was expanded to men aged 18 to 41. Exemptions were granted to those who were too unfit medically, or who worked in vital industries like baking, farming, and medicine, which were vital to the war effort.

By the end of 1941, conscription extended to women and childless widows aged 20 to 30 for war-related work, while men aged upto 51 were drafted in. Even men aged 52 to 60 were required to take part in "some form of military service".

Post-war, the National Service mandated all healthy males aged 17 to 21 to serve in the armed forces for 18 months, along with a four-year reserve period. This often involved training at a barracks based within the UK.

Would women also be conscripted?

The UK has never conscripted women to serve in direct combat - yet recent poll suggests this could change if World War III were to break out. A YouGov poll found that 72% supported women being conscripted as well as men, in the event of the measure ever being reintroduced.

What if I refused?

Despite warnings that the world is in a 'pre-war' state, the same YouGov poll found that many young people would be unwilling to fight for their country - even if the UK was about to be invaded.

Around 38% of under-40s said they would refuse to serve in the armed forces if World War III broke out, and 30% would not serve even if the UK faced "imminent invasion".

In World War II, those who refused to fight - 'conscientious objectors' - who were within the conscription age but refused to fight were taken to court, and many were given mandatory jobs to contribute to the war effort in other ways.

Why are people saying we should bring in conscription?

Donald Trump's shaky attempts to achieve peace in Ukraine have raised fears that Vladimir Putin could feel emboldened to attack Europe again, potentially dragging the UK into a major war. With the US scaling back its support for Ukraine and Russia rejects ceasefire deals, former top brass have warned that Britain must prepare to conscript if things escalate - or risk surrendering quickly.

Colonel Hamish De Bretton Gordon, who used to lead the British Army's Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment, told the Sun: "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". Sir Richard Shirreff, a former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, meanwhile said that the British government should be prepared to "think the unthinkable" and begin a "selective" form of conscription.

What has the Government said?

The Government has said there are no plans for any form of conscription in the UK. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the News Agents podcast on Thursday that "nobody is talking about conscription" and that such a proposal has "never crossed my lips".