LONDON (AP) — All 18-year-olds in Britain will have to perform a year of mandatory military or civilian national service if the governing Conservative Party wins the July 4 national election, the party said Sunday.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to bring back a form of national service for the first time in more than 60 years, seeking to energize his election campaign after a faltering start.
The U.K. introduced military conscription for men and some women during World War II, and imposed 18 months of mandatory military service for men between 1947 and 1960. Since then Britain has had an all-volunteer military whose size has steadily shrunk.
Under the plan, a small minority of 18-year-olds — 30,000 out of an estimated 700,000 — would spend 12 months in the military, working in areas such as logistics or cyber defense. The rest would spend one weekend a month working for charities, community groups, or organizations such as hospitals, the police and the fire service.
Sunak said the program would help “create a shared sense of purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country.”
It remains unclear how it will be made compulsory. Home Secretary James Cleverly said no one would be forced to serve in the military.
Cleverly said Sunday that the main goal of the new plan was not boosting the military but building “a society where people mix with people outside their own communities, mix with people from different backgrounds, different religions, different income levels.”
The Conservatives estimated the cost of the national service plan at 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) a year. They said it would be paid for partly by taking 1.5 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) from the U.K. Shared Prosperity Fund, which was set up in 2022 to regenerate poor communities.
Labour said the national service announcement was a “desperate 2.5 billion pound unfunded commitment” from a party “bankrupt of ideas.”
Former Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson said the Tory plan amounted to “compulsory volunteering” and predicted “it’ll never happen.”
Elections in the United Kingdom have to be held no more than five years apart. The prime minister can choose the timing within that period and Sunak, 44, had until December to name the date.
He took most people – including those in his own party – by surprise when he announced on Wednesday that the election would be held on July 4. The Conservatives, who have been in office for 14 years, are trailing the opposition Labour Party led by Keir Starmer in opinion polls and are trying to overcome a widespread sense that voters want change.
Sunak’s election announcement outside 10 Downing Street saw him drenched with rain and drowned out by protesters blasting a Labour campaign song. One of his first campaign stops was at the Belfast shipyard where the doomed ocean liner Titanic was built — another detail seized on gleefully by opponents.
Voters will elect lawmakers to fill all 650 seats in the House of Commons. The leader of the party that can command a Commons majority – either alone or in coalition – will become prime minister.
British Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has a drink as he speaks to voters about the cost of living, while on the General Election campaign trail in Stafford, in the West Midlands, England, Saturday May 25, 2024. ( Jacob King/PA via AP)
Britain's Labour leader Keir Starmer attends the launch of Scottish Labour's General Election campaign at City Facilities in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday May 24, 2024. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak, center, takes part in a Q&A session with students and staff at Cannock College, in Cannock, central England, Friday May 24, 2024, during a campaign event in the build-up to the UK general election on July 4. (Henry Nicholls/Pool via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak reacts as he meets with veterans at a community breakfast during a party campaign event in the build-up to the UK general election on July 4, in Northallerton, northeastern England, on Saturday, May 25, 2024. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)
BALTIMORE (AP) — Gunnar Henderson hit his eighth leadoff homer of the season, and three more Orioles also went deep off Zack Wheeler to help Baltimore beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-3 on Sunday.
The pitching matchup between Wheeler (8-4) and Corbin Burnes (8-2) didn't live up to expectations, but it was still an eventful series finale before a third straight sellout crowd at Camden Yards. Phillies manager Rob Thomson was ejected in the top of the sixth, and soon after that, play paused for a few seconds on multiple occasions because of loud plane flyovers related to Baltimore's Fleet Week celebration.
The Orioles took two of three against Philadelphia and pulled within 1 1/2 games of the AL East-leading New York Yankees. The Yankees host a three-game series with Baltimore starting Tuesday night.
Wheeler had never allowed more than three homers in a game, but the Orioles hit one in four of his five innings on the mound. In the bottom of the first, Henderson broke a tie with Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber — who went deep to start Friday night's game — for the major league lead in leadoff homers. Then Colton Cowser hit a 443-foot shot with a man on in the second to make it 3-0.
“I think that Gunnar's (nine-pitch) leadoff AB honestly kind of gave everyone else the blueprint,” Cowser said. “He was in zone. Gunnar was fouling off pitches and then got one in the heart and hit it out."
Adley Rutschman added a solo homer in the third, and after the Phillies scored twice in the fifth to make it 4-2, Jordan Westburg's three-run shot capped a four-run rally for Baltimore in the bottom of the inning.
Two errors by Baltimore's infield allowed the Phillies to load the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Yennier Cano came on and struck out Edmundo Sosa for his third save.
Wheeler lasted just 4 1/3 innings and matched a career high with eight earned runs allowed. He hadn't permitted that many since 2018.
“Just command really. All four of those (home run) pitches were right down the middle of the plate,” Thomson said. “And up a little bit. It's just one of those days.”
Burnes, who edged Wheeler in a tight race for the 2021 National League Cy Young Award, faced plenty of traffic but made it through six innings for his 10th consecutive quality start. That's the longest active streak in the majors. Burnes wasn't available to talk to reporters after the game because of a personal matter.
Philadelphia’s Garrett Stubbs squared to bunt in the sixth, and when Burnes’ pitch bounced near the batter’s foot, Stubbs went to first. Umpires conferred and had Stubbs come back to continue his plate appearance. Thomson was then ejected during an animated argument with plate umpire Mike Estabrook.
The ballpark had a good view of Fleet Week air shows all weekend, but there was a brief period when the planes were particularly loud and players on the field stopped for a few seconds at a time.
Phillies: Thomson said before the game Philadelphia expects to have star SS Trea Turner back Monday from a hamstring injury.
Orioles: RHP Dean Kremer (triceps) pitched 3 2/3 innings in a rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk.
Phillies: Philadelphia's Christopher Sánchez (3-3) starts at home Monday night against San Diego's Randy Vásquez (1-3).
Orioles: Burnes' start Sunday means the Yankees don't have to face him in this next series. Albert Suárez (3-0) takes the mound for Baltimore against Nestor Cortes (3-5) on Tuesday night.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
A fighter jet, as part of Maryland Fleet Week and Flyover festivities, flies by Oriole Park at Camden Yards during a baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Corbin Burnes throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser, left, drinks from the "homer hydration station" as he celebrates his two-run home run with Jordan Westburg, right, during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser celebrates his two-run home run as he rounds the bases during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson, back, argues with home plate umpire Mike Estabrook, front, after he was ejected from the baseball game in the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Baltimore. Third base umpire Laz Diaz watches at right. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Baltimore Orioles' Jordan Westburg, second from left, celebrates his three-run home run with Anthony Santander (25) during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Baltimore Orioles' Gunnar Henderson (2) celebrates his home run in front of Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs, right, during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 16, 2024, in Baltimore. Home plate umpire Mike Estabrook looks on at left. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
