大象传媒

Anne McElvoy and the conflict mediator Gabrielle Rifkind facilitate this edition's debate about calls to reintroduce National Service. It's an idea many in the military say is essential in the new world order. In January the outgoing head of the Armed Forces General Sir Patrick Saunders said the creation of a citizens army was essential and only last month the new head of the British Army General Sir Roly Walker said Britain's army must be ready in three years to fight a war against what he described as an "axis of upheaval" - Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

In the run up to the recent general election the conservatives pledged to introduce national service if they were re-elected. Support for the idea appeared to split along generational lines with many older people appearing to back it with young people against.

The idea was the brainchild of the former Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood who served in the armed forces before becoming an MP. He lost his seat last month but he remains convinced that such service must happen. He argues that the peace of the post cold war era is over, that appeasement doesn鈥檛 work and that everyone needs to lean in and take their share of the security burden. Alongside him in the studio but on the opposite side of the debate is the president of the National Union of Students Amira Campbell . The NUS which represents more than 7 million students described the proposal as 鈥渞egressive鈥� and 鈥渞idiculous鈥�

Presenter: Anne McElvoy
Producer: Lisa Jenkinson