Give New Recruits £10,000 To Join Army, Says Davey

[naomi24]

//New soldiers should be offered a £10,000 bonus to rapidly boost troop numbers to deal with an increasingly unpredictable world, the Lib Dems have said.

The government should also distribute pamphlets to make sure every British home is "war-ready" and able to deal with blackouts and chaos caused by the outbreak of conflict or cyber-attacks, Lib Dem Leader Sir Ed Davey said.

The Lib Dems claim the plans will "urgently" boost to the number of trained soldiers from just under 71,000, external to more than 73,000.

In the face of a "barbaric" Russian President Vladimir Putin and an "erratic" US President Donald Trump, Sir Ed said the UK must be better prepared.//

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70x451xpx5o

 

Good idea - or not?

[bhg481]

Not a good idea. People will sign up for the wrong reasons ie, a quick buck. The military need dedicated personnel.

[Untitled]

i am totally in favour of soldiers being better paid. i believe we are far better off investing in personnel and technology than we are pouring money into nuclear weapons. 

[douglas9401]

I doubt very much that a pamphlet will help a population unable even to put the correct bin out for collection.

[Togo]

//New soldiers should be offered a £10,000 bonus to rapidly boost troop numbers//

Boatloads of illegal immigrants put to "use" quickly. I did warn a while back about the coming immigrant/mamaluk army who would not hesitate to shoot the indigenous population because the politician feared that the current military would do no such thing. Is this how the end of Britain begins in earnest? 

[Ken4155]

Agree with bhg481; Bad idea. I wonder just how many of those in receipt of the £10K will withdraw it from their accounts and go AWOL, and how much time and money would be spent on tracking them down.

[ToraToraTora]

terrible idea, do we really want the sort of soldier who you have bung to join up?

[ynnafymmi]

Arent Romanian and other chancing"students"also given a £10,000 grant to pay for their"studies"at colleges and universities in the UK,then they and the money are never seen again?Same will happen with this"free"money.

[THECORBYLOON]

"Under the plans, new recruits receive a £10,000 bonus after completing training and serving for two years."

The usual minimum period of service is three year plus a twelve-month notice making four year in total.

I would have thought it better to give the £10,000 after that four-year period had been completed.

[Pegasus16]

Has Davey spent any time or effort identifying why people do not want to join HM armed forces?

[Untitled]

all soldiers require payment to join up. it is a profession. 

[ToraToraTora]

12:36 they get wages not a joining fee.

[Untitled]

And what's so wrong with a joining fee? nobody says "we'd better not give her a signing bonus, we don't want that sort of person at this company". 

[ToraToraTora]

we should be looking at why they aren't so keen on joining. 

[davebro3]

I think if I was NEET these days I would jump at the chance of joining up even without a signing on bonus. (Navy for preference.)

[Old_Geezer]

I understand the urgency/panic, but recruiting a load of young folk eager for £10k but unsuited to being in the military is likely to be counterproductive, and a waste of public money.

[Old_Geezer]

In fairness, I don't expect better of an illiberal undemocrat.

[Untitled]

i don't think wanting 10k would be the only requirement. they would still have to go through screening and training. the latter is something that the uk army excels at.

[david small]

This is a bad idea. I joined the Royal Marines and signed up for twelve years. Not for money, but for a military career. Mercenaries join for money, when that's gone, so are they.

[douglas9401]

When politicians offer 'free' money it's wise to get legal advice as they lie for a living.

[THECORBYLOON]

As his suggestion is to give the £10,000 only after the completion of training and two year in service, the new recruits would need to be of a suitable standard to last that long in the first place.