David Cameron is to propose setting up a six-week programme for young people called "national citizen service".

He will say 16-year-olds should get the chance to do activities such as physical training or charity work.

The Tory leader will say such work would "be about inspiration, making young people feel that British society is something they want to be part of".

It will be the modern equivalent of national service, he added, but it would not be compulsory.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6980830.stm

At last a common sense idea from Camoron but it should be compulsory and longer as I can't see the yobs of society who it's aimed at going anywhere near it.

I'll wait for Noo Labour announcing their national citizen service policy in a few weeks :hihi:

I'll wait for Noo Labour announcing their national citizen service policy in a few weeks :hihi:

Sorry to spoil Cameron's Big Idea, but we already have something like this and it was set up years ago.

Millennium Volunteers.

its a lame idea, nobody apart from the gimpy kids will touch it!

its a lame idea, nobody apart from the gimpy kids will touch it!

thats why it should be compulsary

Why not put them in the army for 6 weeks? That way, all teenagers will become highly skilled at using guns.

Oh no, hang on........

The Tory leader will say such work would "be about inspiration, making young people feel that British society is something they want to be part of".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6980830.stm



Hurray "society" is back...

thats why it should be compulsary

sorry but i cant agre with that, its a step closer to national service!

Let's be fair to Cameron, please.

His brain does work!
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and after the 6 weeks is up ,what then ? far better to give them a proper job,where they can earn money,pay tax and learn to be part of society,kids at 16 have just left all the p .t classes behind them at school,they need something to look towards,not back at

Why not put them in the army for 6 weeks? That way, all teenagers will become highly skilled at using guns.

Oh no, hang on........

No, put them in the army & send them to Afghanistan for 10 years :hihi:

Without a doubt the kids who choose to take part in this will grow even further ahead in fitness, education and well-being. So the left will hate it and will try and persecute them to bring them down to the level of the yobs they love so much.

It's all down to parents also really and what they want for their children.

Without a doubt the kids who choose to take part in this will grow even further ahead in fitness, education and well-being. So the left will hate it and will try and persecute them to bring them down to the level of the yobs they love so much.

It's all down to parents also really and what they want for their children.

I said in another post topic that if kids don't have a job or college lined up when they reach 16 they ought to be sent into the army whether the parents like it or not. That way the yobs won't have any other choice but to learn discipline, respect and a worthwhile trade. If the parents really object to their little darlings being sent into the army maybe it will give them the incentive to ensure their kids do better in school?

Garbage.

What is the point of it? Why does Cameron think this will help anybody? It's just a popularist piece of nonsense...plus there are already opportuntuies for kids to volunteer for things like this should they so choose.

I said in another post topic that if kids don't have a job or college lined up when they reach 16 they ought to be sent into the army whether the parents like it or not. That way the yobs won't have any other choice but to learn discipline, respect and a worthwhile trade. If the parents really object to their little darlings being sent into the army maybe it will give them the incentive to ensure their kids do better in school?
That's a cracking idea!

Without a doubt the kids who choose to take part in this will grow even further ahead in fitness, education and well-being. So the left will hate it and will try and persecute them to bring them down to the level of the yobs they love so much.

It's all down to parents also really and what they want for their children.

what 6 weeks of volunteering or playing footy is going to have a greater impace then all those years of school :roll:

I said in another post topic that if kids don't have a job or college lined up when they reach 16 they ought to be sent into the army whether the parents like it or not. That way the yobs won't have any other choice but to learn discipline, respect and a worthwhile trade.

...and how to kill with their bare hands....:thumbsup:

sorry but i cant agre with that, its a step closer to national service!
Maybe "National Service", i.e. service to our nation, should NOT be confused with military conscription, "advertised" as National Service.
There are enough things needing to be done to give all school leavers a year or so of occupation, maybe in a disciplined environment; and some of them may choose military training.
I favour making it a requirement for full citizenship.

...and how to kill with their bare hands....:thumbsup:

If they don't choose a trade to learn, then yes. If they want to fight & kill they can do it for the good of the country - on the front line ;)

Teach yobs to be soldiers? The word tautology comes to mind!

Teach yobs to be soldiers? The word tautology comes to mind!


Well it seemed to work in Bad Lads Army - apart from those who couldn't hack it & were free to leave. The other yobs actually turned into decent human beings :hihi:

National Service would teach these thugs respect and discipline.

It's a pointless idea. Teenagers who are conscientious and wish to help others can already do volunteering. There are loads of volunteering opportunities out there and they're perfectly capable of arranging them off their own backs. Why does the state always have to try and micromanage everything? The majority of teenagers are decent people who don't need their hands held like this.

The small remainder who don't care aren't going to bother with this because they don't have to. Also, why the tacky US-style "pledge to Britain" at the end of it? If I was a teenager then I wouldn't do it if it meant having to make such a pledge at the end. Chest-beating patriotism is un-British and embarrassing.

Wooo! Go Team UK! We rule! :rolleyes:

Garbage.

What is the point of it? Why does Cameron think this will help anybody? It's just a popularist piece of nonsense...plus there are already opportuntuies for kids to volunteer for things like this should they so choose.

Exactly. It's just taking what already exists and giving it a Daily Mail friendly name.

What school leavers ought to be doing is getting a job instead of faffing around for a few weeks playing football. Which is in fact what is now going to happen - all kids under 18 will be required by law to work, train or stay in school. And those going to do A levels will probably be finding summer jobs to earn a few bob like I had to do.

Chest-beating patriotism is un-British and embarrassing.



....How so?

Because it's tacky. The thing I like most about Britain is our inbuilt cynicism. All authority is crooked, all politicians are lying hypocrites on the take, journalists are coke-snorting manipulative hypocrites etc. Cynicism is good because it shows a healthy distrust of authority and makes people much less likely to get hoodwinked over things.

Patriotism is a bad thing because it can be used by politicians to justify all kinds of bad things:

Citizen: Why are you doing that?
Politician: Because it's for the good of the country
Citizen: Oh, okay then. Carry on.