General election latest: Young royals would not be exempt from Sunak’s national service scheme

Young royals would be among those having to spend a year in the military or volunteer in the community under Rishi Sunak’s plans to reintroduce national service.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have three children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

The Telegraph have reported that the Conservative Party told them this did not exclude royal children.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie also have young children as does Zara Tindall, as well as Prince Edward’s son, the Earl of Wessex, who is 16.

Labour and the Tories will clash over security as campaigning for the General Election enters its first full week after the Conservatives announced plans to introduce national service.

In a keynote speech ahead of polling day, Sir Keir Starmer will say that “economic security, border security, and national security” will form the “bedrock” of the party manifesto.

Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak will be hammering his message that the Conservatives will take “bold action” to deliver “a secure future for the next generation”.

The Tories have announced that all 18-year-olds would be made to undertake a form of “mandatory” national service if they are re-elected on July 4.

Teenagers would choose between taking a 12-month placement in the armed forces or “volunteer” work in their community one weekend a month for a year under the proposals.

There’s nothing sadder when a relationship deteriorates to the point that one party has to start promising the moon. That trip to Paris we’ve been putting off? I can find the money. Your parents hate me? I can be more charming. Suddenly you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

It’s a bad way to fix a relationship, and it’s a disastrous way to try and fix a country. Yet it seems to be the prime minister’s current strategy for holding on to office – and it’s going about as well as you’d expect.

Read the full article from Ryan Coogan here:

It has been a rollercoaster of a couple of years to be a Southampton fan – from the lows of regulation last season, to a thrilling rise up the Championship this season.

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A former army reservist whose blog has been praised by ex-defence secretary Ben Wallace has ripped apart Rishi Sunak’s plans to reintroduce National Service.

His analysis of the Tory pledge to add 30,000 teenagers to the armed forces ranks every year has raised serious questions about the costs of the project.

Read the full article from political editor David Maddox here:

Scottish Labour is on course to win up to 25 UK parliamentary seats in the General Election, according to a poll.

The survey by More In Common showed the Labour Party started the election campaign with a five-point lead over the SNP.

Labour polled at 35%, with the SNP at 30%, the Conservatives at 17%, the Liberal Democrats at 10%, Reform UK at 4% and the Greens at 3%.

More in Common polled a nationally representative sample of 1,016 Scottish voters between May 22 and 24.

The survey found voters north of the border are more likely than Britain overall to say it is time for a change in leadership.

Nigel Farage has insisted he still has “one more big card to play” and confirmed plans to stand as a future MP candidate, despite feeling “extremely disappointed” by Rishi Sunak’s decision to call a General Election on July 4.

The Reform UK honorary president said he could not campaign both nationally and for one constituency in the six-week timeframe, and suggested the Prime Minister had used “first mover advantage” with the announcement.

Mr Farage announced in a statement on Thursday that he would not stand as a party candidate in the election, but would “do my bit to help” in the UK campaign.

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Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, asked when Labour would increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, told BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “We’re not going to put a timetable on that”.

“We’ve committed to do in government a strategic defence review to make sure that we’re getting value for money for all of our spending, including on defence where some of the procurement costs of purchasing new equipment have, frankly, got out of control under this Government.”

On whether Labour would scrap the two-child benefit cap, Ms Reeves said: “We’re not going to be able to put everything right that the Conservatives have done straight away, and our priority is reducing those NHS waiting lists.”

Lord Heseltine has warned that the 2024 general election campaign “will be the most dishonest in modern times” because of the refusal of the main parties to debate the consequences of Brexit.

The former deputy prime minister, who fell out with the Conservatives over leaving the European Union, has written exclusively for The Independent explaining how the big issues in this general election – the economy, immigration and defence – all need to be debated in the context of the UK’s relationship with the EU.

Read the full article from our political editor here: