Sunak hints at sanctioning youngsters for refusing National Service after getting grilled on TV

As the United Kingdom braces itself for the upcoming General Elections, the country’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hinted that young people in the country might face sanctions if they refuse to do national service.

The proclamation from the British premier came while he was facing questions from the voters at the BBC Question Time special. While explaining his plans to make national service mandatory for people who turn 18, Sunak said that if the youngsters refuse to take part in the endeavour, he or she might face restrictions on access to finance or driving licences.

When asked further whether this would mean denying people bank cards, Sunak responded: “There’s a lot of different models around Europe.” In the 30-minute long show, Sunak puts forward the case for why the Brits should support Tories despite Conservative’s 14 turbulent years in office.

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A tough crowd to please

During the show, the British prime minister received chants of “shame” after he refused to say that he would keep the UK within the European Convention on Human Rights. Sunak also challenged the recent reports about the alleged betting on the date of the general election.

The British premier emphasised that he was “incredibly angry” by the whole ordeal. Another tense situation emerged on the topic of the current state of the UK’s National Health Services (NHS). While giving his take on the matter the British premier admitted that the government “haven’t made as much progress as I would like”  in regards to the NHS.

When Sunak asked the audience member who posed the question, if he was satisfied by his answers, the questioner replied: “No.” Another audience member, a doctor, then attacked Sunak over his NHS plans, saying: “People are suffering.”

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Sunak continued to emphasise that the voters should evaluate him on his own records, however, the audience pointed at the turbulence within the conservative party and Sunak if he faced any “embarrassment” representing the British grand old party.

Starmer faced the wrath as well

In the half-hour slot before Sunak, Labour Party leader Kier Starmer was also asked a series of tricky questions, with one audience member calling out “all of the backtracking on policies from Labour”.

Starmer dismissed those allegations and insisted that tough decisions were needed, characterising one as being between reducing NHS waiting lists and removing student tuition fees.

“They are political choices,” he said, calling himself “a commonsense politician” and adding: “I’m telling you what they are before the election, so people can make their mind up.”

Asked about transgender rights and differences within the Labour Party over the issue, Starmer insisted that he wants to bring the public together over the decisive issue and slammed Sunak for making a “trans joke” in parliament, winning applause.

With inputs from the agencies.