Over the coming weeks, candidates from Huntingdon, North West Cambridgeshire and St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire will give views on key issues facing the electorate.
Here, the candidates for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire share their opinions on plans for the re-introduction of National Service.
As part of the scheme, 18-year-olds would be mandated to choose between one year of military training or 25 days of 'volunteer work' over the course of a year.
Anthony Browne (Conservative)
"In our increasingly splintered society, it is good for young people to get involved with their communities, learning new soft skills of the sort they don’t learn in school, meeting new people, and developing a shared sense of common purpose.
"So I fully support them being required to do some community service, whether for the NHS, the police, social care or environment groups, for one weekend a month for a year.
"With young people from all different backgrounds taking part, it will help broaden their horizons.
"Alternatively, if they prefer, they can apply to take the military option of a paid placement for a year in the armed forces, which will give them valuable training and unrivalled experiences."
He added: "The military places are limited to around 30,000 a year, and experience from Scandinavian countries shows they are extremely popular and massively oversubscribed.
"When I was at school in Cambridge, we were required to spend every Thursday afternoon either doing community service or training with the armed forces cadets. I learned things from that time I value to this day."
Stephen Ferguson (Independent)
"The Conservative National Service scheme is an unworkable election stunt that would cost the Government £2.5 billion, which they cannot afford.
"Having discussed the idea with senior military officers last week at Maddingley, they think it is unworkable - especially since we currently adequately house our existing armed forces, without adding 30,000 conscripts.
"Volunteering is, by nature, a voluntary activity. As a long-time run director at Parkrun, I see the positive contributions made by young people who volunteer every week for the joy of volunteering."
He added: "This has also taught me that reluctant volunteers (those who are press-ganged into “volunteering") are worse than useless.
"After 14 years of ideological austerity, this country faces many problems, but inspiring young people to acts of community service is not one of them. I don’t have an alternative suggestion because this is not a problem that needs solving."
Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat)
"Sunak’s proposal to introduce National Service fails young people and does nothing to enhance our national security.
"If the Tories were serious about protecting our country’s ability to defend itself, they would reverse the decline in troop numbers.
"If they were serious about improving prospects for young people, they would not have slashed funding for youth services and training opportunities. This is a cynical sop to Reform voters and the Tories desperately need to avoid defeat."
He added: "The Conservatives have said their plans would be paid for by slashing funding for local areas through the Shared Prosperity Fund, which funds projects that boost jobs, improve public services and build pride in local communities.
"This currently funds £1.8m of community projects in Huntingdon and £1.7m in South Cambridgeshire.
"If elected as MP for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire, I would oppose cuts to investment in local areas to finance this hare-brained scheme and would support proper funding for our Armed Forces."
Kathryn Fisher (Green Party)
"It’s clear that Rishi’s National Service Scheme is a last-ditch attempt to save himself from a sinking ship. Nobody asked for mandatory national service and nobody wants it.
"If the Conservatives were serious about encouraging people to volunteer, they would be advocating for a four day working week or proposing that the minimum wage increases to £15 (both are opposed by the Conservatives and backed by the Green Party).
"Then people would spend less time working and would have more time to volunteer."
She added: "The reason why services like the NHS are in need of volunteers is because the Tories have spent the last 14 years defunding vast swathes of our healthcare services, making them inefficient, wasteful, and siphoning millions of pounds to Tory donors in the process.
"If you want a visionary policy that everyone in this country would benefit from, you are spoilt for choice in the Green Party manifesto."
The Hunts Post contacted the Reform UK candidate for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire James Sidlow, and the Labour candidate Marianna Masters, but received no response.
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