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A senior Tory has been criticised after he suggested young people could join the Army in return for having their student debt reduced.
Sir David Lidington, who was effectively deputy prime minister when Theresa May was in No.10, made the comments on LBC.
He said it would be part of a “campaign of persuasion” to get people to enlist in the armed forces.
Sir David, who is chair of the RUSI defence think-tank, said it could be part of a “carrot and stick” approach to getting people to sign up.
“With young people, you could say for example, we’ll knock a bit off your student loan debt if you come and take part in this,” he told presenter Tom Swarbrick.
"You could say to young people: 'Right we'll knock a bit off your student loan debt if you come and take part.'"
Sir David Lidington expresses the need for both 'a stick' and 'a carrot' to draw young people into conscription, and makes some suggestions himself. pic.twitter.com/zYiOFx9BQP
— LBC (@LBC) April 5, 2024
But his remarks drew criticism on social media, with some pointing out that Sir David did not take on student debt, or join the army, himself.
Risk your life for us and we’ll “knock a bit off your student loan”. The audacity! https://t.co/w0aNeCRPBh
— Ava-Santina (@AvaSantina) April 6, 2024
We have concerning numbers of vacancies in the professional Army and RN, which (as always) is due to pay & conditions and a serious lack of equipment. So let's fantasise about mass conscript armies, we cannot train and equip to fight imaginary wars. https://t.co/9lyLSDN5AZ
— Christopher Howarth (@CJCHowarth) April 6, 2024
David Lidington did not serve.
His university education was free. https://t.co/QsohGn57PH— Ferret (@Ferretgrove) April 5, 2024
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