John Curtice warns Sunak that his National Service plan will not close poll gap

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It was designed to appeal to their base which is older.” Rishi Sunak has proposed the introduction of national service for 18-year-olds Leading pollster and Tory peer Lord Robert Hayward said: “It will have a limited impact either way. “There will be some extra underlying impact but nothing more amongst white working class voters – in other words, those who have left or are uncertain in red wall areas.” He added: “The Tories are already very weak amongst young voters, so limited further impact on that vote.” But he noted: “In part the impact will depend how much noise this continues to have.” Michela Morizzo, chief executive of Techne UK, warned that the policy is more likely to have a negative effect. “In my opinion it would be strategically better to proceed with the idea of the civil/ volunteering service, or local service.” Mr Sunak pledged to get 18-year-olds to either join the military for 12 months or do “volunteer” work one weekend a month for a year. The prime minister said the policy would help unite society in an “increasingly uncertain world” and give young people a “shared sense of purpose”.