EXCLUSIVE: Author and historian David Swift says one group of Brits would be most vulnerable to conscription in the event of World War 3
One particular group of Brits could be singled out should conscription be introduced, an expert has warned. The joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran over the weekend have put global tensions at an all-time high.
While Iran’s leader Ali Hosseini Khameini was killed in the strikes, the country has responded with brutal force – attacking multiple Middle East countries. Some places targeted, like the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai, are hugely popular among Brits both as tourist destinations and permanent bases abroad.
It’s no surprise therefore that fears are growing that the war could erupt into a global conflict. In the event that occurs, and the UK needs to call up a vast army at short notice, there is a possibility conscription could be used.
Conscription refers to when a government enforces a mandatory enlistment into individuals into the military service. Over the past 126 years there have only been two instances of conscription in the UK, the first was between 1916 and 1920 and the second was between 1939 and 1960.
Conscription fears are rising (Image: Carl Ackerley via Getty Images)
Smoke continues to billow over Iran’s capital Tehran from the strikes (Image: MAHSA, Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
But what would the enforced call-up look like in 2026 in the face of the Iran war? Author and historian David Swift suggested that the policy would likely target one demographic initially, while people working in two industries will be exempt.
He told the Express: “Today, since there is such an urgent need to rebuild Britain’s defence industries and industrial capacity, I would expect that people in these important occupations would be exempt.”
“Or even that people could be ‘conscripted’ into working in these industries, and that military conscription would target unemployed graduates – this would be very popular with lots of people and especially the Blue Labour thinkers behind Starmer.”
It comes weeks after experts warned the British Army is in its worst state for more than 70 years. Retired Army major and military historian Robert Lyman told the Express that he believed Britain’s armed forces hadn’t been this depleted since the era of the Napoleonic wars.
People cross a street as smoke rises from the site of a reported Iranian strike in Dubai (Image: FADEL SENNA, AFP via Getty Images)
Mr Lyman said: “Our armed forces have never been so denuded of power since the Napoleonic wars. It’s really hard to describe how poorly-prepared we are – we have an Army that is probably smaller than it was during the Napoleonic wars.
“We all talk about the need for technology and how cyber and drones will win the next war. All of that is palpable nonsense.
“The way that wars are won are by mass of intelligence, infantry, armour and artillery, well-coordinated using technology to assist them. You can’t win wars using small armies.”
