General election latest: Nobody 'going to jail' for skipping National Service if Tories win general election (2024)

Labour peer Baroness Hazarika tells Trevor Phillips that she thinks the National Service announcement is a "desperate gimmick".

She adds that it is "red meat" to throw at Reform voters and elderly voters in the Red Wall.

It "smacks of real desperation" and "not the burning issue that the country is talking about".

Lord Finkelstein, the Conservative peer, says that something cannot be both a good idea and a gimmick.

He also says that he - as a fiscal conservative - doesn't like spending money on anything, and that there are also practical issues.

But polling suggest two thirds of young people are in favour of National Service - and says that the policy shows Rishi Sunak attempting to refocus the campaign on national security.

Rachel Johnson, the broadcaster, says the policy is just "not going to happen".

She says she supports the idea - and thinks Prince Harry should be a figurehead for National Service.

Ms Johnson adds that both the former head of the National Farming Union and former head of the army have called for forms of National Service.

Home Secretary James Cleverly admits to Trevor Phillips that small boats crossings reaching 10,000 people this year shows the numbers "are not where we would want them to be".

But he says things would be "considerably worse if the Labour Party started unpicking things" - including the Rwanda scheme.

Mr Cleverly says people smugglers are "changing tactics".

Labour accused of 'dishonesty'

He goes on the attack against Labour - saying their policy for a border force command is announcing something that "already exists".

The home secretary says Labour either "don't know what they're talking about or they're being dishonest".

He adds: "Ignorance and stupidity are not a sales point - and dishonesty is not a sales point either".

Trevor Phillips turns to the timing of the election, which means certain laws will not be passed by this government.

He recalls the efforts of Figen Murray, the mother of a Manchester Arena bomb victim, who walked 200 miles from Manchester to London campaigning for Martyn's law.

The law would require venues to have preventative plans in place against terror attacks.

'Has PM apologised?'

"Mr Sunak looked her in the eye on Wednesday, the seventh anniversary of her son's death... and told her that law would be passed, when he must have known that was not going to happen. Has he apologised to her?" asks Phillips.

James Cleverly says he "doesn't know" whether Mr Sunak has spoken to Ms Murray and her family.

He says he and the prime minster said during the meeting with Ms Murray that "we could not necessarily guarantee the law would have completed its entire passage before the general election".

"I said to her that I have no doubt that even if it is delayed by a general election... there is cross-party support."

Asked if he would like to apologise, he says: "Of course we are sorry that not all legislation was passed, and I am particularly sorry that we weren't able to get Martyn's law on the statute books before the general election, but I discussed with the family and the campaign group that it might straddle a general election."

Home Secretary James Cleverly is asked by Trevor Phillips about Rishi Sunak launching the election in the rain.

He tells Sky News the "bottom line" is that "sometime it rains in the UK" - adding it shows the weather is not going to put the Tories off.

Mr Cleverly claims the media would have attacked the prime minister regardless of how he announced the campaign - moving it inside or holding an umbrella.

The MP for Braintree claims the issue has not come up on the doorstep so far.

Asked why the election was called at that time, Mr Cleverly points to this week's fall in inflation showing the economy is moving in the right direction.

Home Secretary James Cleverly is speaking to Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips.

He is asked about the Conservatives' policy announcement this morning - that they want young people to do either a year of National Service in the military or volunteer once a week with services like the NHS (read more).

Mr Cleverly tells Trevor no one is "going to jail" if they fail to comply with the plans.

"There's going to be no criminal sanctions," he says - but adds that "we are going to compel people to do it".

This refers to the scheme as a whole - with no one being forced into the military side.

On payment, Mr Cleverly says those taking part in the military option will be remunerated - but those who do weekend volunteering won't get any cash.

The home secretary says one point of the scheme is to encourage people from different backgrounds, religions, and income levels to mix.

He says the Tories want to tackle "social fragmentation" - and that "too many young people live in a kind of bubble within their own communities".

Our flagship Sunday morning show, hosted byTrevor Phillips, is now live until 10am, and we have a packed line-up.

Here's who Trevor will be chatting to:

• James Cleverly, the home secretary;
• Liz Kendall, Labour's shadow work and pension secretary;
• Nigel Farage, from Reform UK.

On Trevor's expert panel this morning are:

• Lord Daniel Finkelstein, former Conservative adviser;
• Baroness Ayesha Hazarika, ex-Labour adviser;
• Rachel Johnson, broadcaster.

Watch live on Sky News and in the stream at the top of this page - and follow updates here in the Politics Hub.

WatchSunday Morning with Trevor Phillipsfrom 8.30am every Sunday on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on theSky News websiteandappor onYouTube.

While the economy took centre stage as the first weekend of campaigning kicked off, immigration remains a key election battleground.

Yesterday we learned the number of migrants crossing the Channel so far this year surpassed 10,000 (read more here).

This was earlier than the threshold was reached in the record year of 2022, when 45,000 people arrived within 12 months.

Despite the figures, Home Secretary James Cleverly has said Labour's plans to scrap the Rwanda scheme would make the UK "a magnet" for illegal immigration.

"This Conservative government has a clear plan to stop the boats and deliver a more secure future in an increasingly uncertain world," he added.

But shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has penned an article in The Sun accusing the Conservatives of "chaos and failure", leading to "criminal smuggler gangs" which undermine border security.

"Labour's new elite Border Security Command will bring full force of government and law crashing down on gangs - work starts on day one," she said.

Mr Cleverly will be joining Trevor Phillips on Sky News later this morning - watch from 8.30am at the top of the page and follow along with the key moments here.

By Adam Boulton, Sky News commentator

Whether you heard the wet outdoor version of Rishi Sunak's election campaign launch or the dry indoor one, his message on national security was the same.

"The world is more dangerous than it has been at any point since the end of the Cold War," he told the small banner-waving crowd bussed in to the Excel centre, and it is only "we Conservatives who have that plan and are prepared to take that bold action to ensure the better future for our country and our children."

The Conservative leader likes to remind voters that his Labour opponent, Sir Keir Starmer, served under and supported his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, who opposed Britain's membership of NATO and the nation's nuclear deterrent.

Labour has chosen the single word "change" as their main campaign slogan.

Sir Keir's Labour Party has certainly changed a lot since the days of Mr Corbyn in relation to his views on defence.

Mr Corbyn has been kicked out of Labour on antisemitism issues and is challenging his old party as an independent in the Islington North constituency, which he has represented for 40 years.

Meanwhile, danger signals are flashing red over the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel and Gaza, amid identification of a new axis of anti-Western aggression, dubbed CRINK from the initial letters of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Foreign policy is seldom a determining factor in UK general elections.

All politicians agree with opinion polls which show that voters are usually much more concerned with domestic issues such as the NHS, the economy and law and order.

Yet Conservative campaigners clearly see it as one of their main attack lines against Labour in this election.

Read on here...

Our flagship Sunday morning show, hosted byTrevor Phillips, will be live this morning on Sky News from 8.30am until 10am, and we will have a packed line-up as the general election campaign kicks off.

Here's who Trevor will be chatting to:

• James Cleverly, the home secretary;
• Liz Kendall, Labour's shadow work and pension secretary;
• Nigel Farage, from Reform UK.

On Trevor's expert panel this morning are:

• Lord Daniel Finkelstein, former Conservative adviser;
• Baroness Ayesha Hazarika, ex-Labour adviser;
• Rachel Johnson, broadcaster.

Watch live on Sky News and in the stream at the top of this page - and follow updates here in the Politics Hub.

WatchSunday Morning with Trevor Phillipsfrom 8.30am every Sunday on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on theSky News websiteandappor onYouTube.

The Conservatives would bring in National Service for 18-year-olds, they will announce on Sunday.

In the first new policy announcement of the election campaign, the prime minister has unveiled a plan that would see new adults given the choice of a full-time military placement for 12 months or a scheme to volunteer for one weekend a month for a year.

The placement would be selective - with tests used to decide who is eligible - and involve working with the armed forces or in cyber defence.

Read more from our political correspondent Rob Powell: