Military expert issues conscription warning to two groups of people in UK

There are two obvious target demographics

“The British Army is the smallest it has been since Waterloo, and if we entered a major conventional war against Russia, then we don't have enough troops”, he warned.

Compared to Russia’s over 1.1 million soldiers, Britain has approximately 141,300 full-time troops. And the UK spends just 2.4 percent of its national income on defence, compared to Russia’s spending of 7%.

“The Army traditionally prefers to work on the principle that ‘one volunteer is worth 10 pressed men’. But numbers matter, and if we can't recruit sufficient volunteers then conscription may be necessary,” Crawford pointed out.

“How it is applied is another debate altogether, but younger single men and women would seem to be the obvious target demographic”, he added.

Many Brits wouldn't fight in a war if it happened

As per the results of a 2024 YouGov poll, millions of Brits are nervous for their imminent futures, as it revealed that many wouldn’t want to fight in a war.

According to the data, in the event of WW3, 38% of Brits aged under 40 would refuse to serve in the armed forces.

On the other hand, 30% said they wouldn’t serve in the case of an “imminent invasion”.

Last year, Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized that conscription isn’t on the agenda.

However, many Brits will likely still be anxious, considering the tumultuous start we have had in the new year.

In the first week of 2026, US President Donald Trump ordered the US military to carry out strikes on Venezuela, as it abducted Nicolas Maduro, the country’s president.

In the meantime, Trump has threatened to do things the “hard way” in regards to Greenland.

What do you need to know about conscription?

When a country’s military requires people to fight in a war but there aren’t enough people who volunteer for the army, that is when conscription is introduced.

What conscription means, in simple terms, is that you'll legally be required to fight if you are able to.

According to Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton, this will likely not happen in the near future as he said that he “cannot see conscription returning in the short term”, as he added that there were currently “no plans” for it to be introduced.

However, Sir Richard did highlight that “the situation in the world may deteriorate very significantly.”

Meanwhile, the prime minister last year said that the proposal of conscription “never crossed my lips”.

What happens if you refuse conscription?

During World War II, this would have landed you in a world of trouble.

The government would usually assign work in farming, hospitals, civil defence, forestry, or non-combat military roles – if you were one who refused to fight.

If, however, you chose to refuse all war-related work, you would very likely face prison time.

In the past, certain types of jobs have been exempt from conscription.

These included professions such as bakers, farmers, doctors, nurses and engineers.

Knighton warned young Brits at the end of last year

At the end of 2025, Knighton claimed that the world is now “more dangerous than I have known during my career”, as he spoke of the “sons and daughters” of Britain needing to be ready to fight.

Sir Richard also called on “people who are not soldiers, sailors or aviators to nevertheless invest their skills – and money” on building up national resilience.

While Robert Lyman, a retired Army major and military historian, claimed: “Our armed forces have never been so denuded of power since the Napoleonic wars.”

According to Lyman, the UK is now in a “much worse” position than it was when World War II broke out, as he claimed that it's “really hard to describe how poorly-prepared we are”.