I’m a mother of two boys – I think National Service is a great idea

Loading up their plates with a second helping of Sunday roast a few days ago, my two eldest sons, Eddie, 22, and Sammy, 17, continued their full-throated debate.

They were arguing about what would happen if conscription via National Service were introduced in the UK – which of them would fare better, what rank they felt befit them, all the attempts at one-upmanship you’d expect from siblings.

National Service has been a headline-grabbing topic for the Conservative Party since they first mooted it in May 2024 – and in the last 24 hours it’s become more incendiary than ever, thanks to comments from Lord George Robertson, a former Nato secretary general.

Lord Robertson waded into the debate on Monday, urging the PM and British Government to consider mandatory civil defence...