JC Taeha

Some political ideas age better than others. When I proposed a new model of national service in the 2024 election, it quickly became the butt of jokes. Now France and Germany are taking steps towards it, and in Sweden places are highly prized by teenagers and employers alike. What I’d seen as prime minister – the constant probing by our enemies, which didn’t distinguish between civilian and military – had convinced me we would soon need some kind of resilience corps. The cyberattacks on European supermarkets, with fridges remotely set to 50C so the food spoils, show this is our new reality. Defence spending won’t stop that. Responsibility for our security can’t just be subcontracted to the military. In a world in which the government feels obliged to tell us to stockpile tinned goods, our culture needs to change. It will take more than well-stocked cupboards to meet this moment. A new, universal national service scheme should offer people options. A few might join a small, selective military cadre. Others could serve with search and rescue, St John Ambulance or Meals on Wheels, or train in cybersecurity. It would make us more resilient and more cohesive, give the almost one million young people not in education, employment or training a sense of purpose, and remind us all that citizenship brings responsibilities as well as rights. My @thetimes column today 👇 thetimes.com/comment/columni…