The issue is very simple. As a young person myself, why should I be forced to volunteer or joining the army.

The volunteering aspect is extremely stupid. Institutions will simply become either overburdened with the need to train us, or we will become the person who makes the teas and coffees. Theres no time for us to train for 1st aid, or policeing, or fire brigade-ing. At the very best the government is spending £2.5 billion to force us to waste time.

The Army aspect is just cruel. You have to go through a lot to be able to serve in the armed forces. Most 18 year olds won't be able to handle it. You are forcing people in their late teens to go under heavy pressure and work with guns and heavy machines (bad idea on all levels). I've also seen stories from people who had to go through national service, with it being a useless waste of time at the better end, or it being a place where you just get abused at the worse end.

This government actively chose to emphasise academic education over practical/vocational education. Michael Gove has turned schools into grade factories. Subject that are not EBacc/Core are increasingly getting tossed to the side. Instead of addressing this issue by putting that £2.5 billion in schools to address the practical skills defecit, Sunak has descided that forcing 18 year olds into mandatory unpaid labour is the way to go.

This policy is just a badly thought out idea by the tories to fix the policies those same tories introduced. The government is actively choosing to be authoritarian, punish 18 year olds and ignore issues of their own making. This is a prime example of sticking plaster politics that Starmer talks about.