Britain: Govt rejects conscription plans, after top general voices need for 'citizen army'

Following the chief of the British Army’s declaration that a “citizen army” might be necessary to fight a future war with a nation such as Russia, the U.K. government announced on Wednesday that it had no intentions to implement conscription.

A “whole-of-nation” effort would need to be put into planning for a possible ground battle, according to Chief of Staff Gen. Patrick Saunders.

“Preciously laying the foundations for national mobilization,” he said, praising European countries that are closer to Russia.

This year, Saunders, who has long advocated for increased military spending, is set to retire. He stated that “it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000 within the next three years”.

“But this is not enough,” he added during a speech at the International Armored Vehicles conference in London.

“Taking preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing when needed are now not merely desirable but essential.”

Max Blain, a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, stated that the administration “has no intention” of implementing conscription.

“The British military has a proud tradition of being a voluntary force. There are no plans to change that,” he was quoted as saying by the media.

Grant Shapps, the secretary of defense, has also spoken bluntly about the danger facing the United Kingdom. He described Britain as “moving from a post-war to pre-war world” last week.

That so, the government does not intend to expand the army beyond its current strength of roughly 74,000 full-time soldiers, which is down from 102,000 in 2006. According to the administration, military spending will rise from slightly over 2% of GDP to 2.5%, which is still far less than what it was during the Cold War.

While conscription occurred in the British Army during World War I and again during and after World War II, for the most part of its 364-year existence, the army has been entirely volunteer.

(With agency inputs)