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Bringing Back Universal Conscription In Britain? I Blame Francis Urquhart For That Nonsensical Idea

Adebayo Adeniran
3 min readMay 29, 2024

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Somchai Kongakamsri via Pexels

It’s campaign season and yet it does feel like it’s silly season.

For those who know nothing about the United Kingdom and its peculiarities, it’s the quadrennial election season, when leading politicians from the main parties say whatever needs to be said to win the votes of the public.

And If the polls are anything to go by, the opposition will not only win enough to govern but will emerge victorious by a landslide.

The Conservative and unionist party, which has all but destroyed the country in the last 14 years, have very little by way of compelling ideas and this is evidenced by the nonsense spouted by their leader — Rishi Sunak.

But not even I, a lifelong political animal, envisaged what was to be the flagship policy of this current campaign: the return of national service for young people.

Universal conscription in 2024?

Yes.

The idea was stolen from the second season of Michael Dobbs’ house of cards, in which the fictional prime minister —Francis Urquhart — came up with the idea of national service as an antidote to the social economic problems across inner cities in the United Kingdom.

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Adebayo Adeniran
Adebayo Adeniran

Written by Adebayo Adeniran

A lifelong bibliophile, who seeks to unleash his energy on as many subjects as possible

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