Brits who refused conscription could be brought before a judge or thrown in jail, as military call-up age is expanded upwards.
We’re not going to war, or at least we’re not for another 995 days, but increasing global tensions and the UK government’s recent emergency preparedness checklist has meant that the topic is certainly at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
So what would happen if the unthinkable were to become the inevitable?
The UK entering into a direct war would mean that conscription would become highly likely, as military experts have warned that our armed forces are shrinking.
Abolished in the 1960s, conscription would be a highly unpopular move, as a recent YouGov poll revealed that 38 percent of respondents under 40 would refuse to serve if WW3 broke out, while 30 percent said they wouldn’t serve even in the face of an ‘imminent invasion’.
The prospect of the UK facing a war scenario has been in the news recently (Getty Stock Images)
What would happen if you refused conscription?
As conscription is currently not in place in the UK, there are no laws to say what would happen to someone if they refused a call-up.
However, we can look at historical precedent to work out what would most likely happen in this scenario.
During WW1 and WW2, it was considered a criminal offence to refuse conscription.
Those who objected were taken to court, with those granted the status of a conscientious objector (on moral, ethical, and religious grounds) given jobs to contribute to the war in other ways.
Essential jobs such as farming, hospital work, civil defence or forestry were given to individuals, while others were given non-combat military roles.
Meanwhile, those who refused to take part in all war-related work were often thrown in prison.
Objectors also faced social ostracism, with a public campaign in WW1 encouraging women to hand out white feathers, a sign of cowardice, to military-aged men not in uniform.
The UK Government previously said there were no plans to re-introduce conscription (Temilade Adelaja – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
The UK could also adopt a model similar to Switzerland, which forces objectors to pay an additional three percent in taxes, or Greece, which fines citizens who fail to register.
WW3 call-up age ‘expanded’
Earlier this year, the UK Government announced that it had increased the age at which former military personnel can be called up from 55 to 65 in the event of war.
Retired senior British Army officer Lord Dannatt then told The Daily Express that, should war break out, reservists would be called up first, followed by the youngest eligible civilians.
“Britain would not necessarily begin by compelling civilians with no military experience to join the armed forces,” he said
“Reservists and former service personnel would provide an initial pool of people with military training, although recalling them at scale would present substantial logistical challenges.”
Leave a Reply