Lagging in polls, UK Conservatives pitch national service at 18

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak lays a brick during a bricklaying workshop at Cannock College, in Cannock, Staffordshire, Britain May 24, 2024. HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - Britain's Conservative Party will introduce mandatory national service for 18-year-olds if it wins the national election on July 4, comprising military or community participation, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday.

Young adults will be able to choose between spending one weekend a month volunteering over the course of a year, or take up one of 30,000 spaces to spend a year in the armed forces, Sunak said.