Conscription could return to Britain as fears grow that Russian President Vladimir Putin could provoke an escalation of current conflicts.
If tensions continue to rise and a new global conflict breaks out, there are some signs of what will happen if Britain enters the war.
It is understood that if war does break out, Britain may have to introduce conscription to increase its reserves, especially given that the army has shrunk to its smallest size since the early 19th century, with around 74,000 full-time personnel.
Speaking to the Daily Express, writer and historian David Swift suggested penalties that could be imposed on Britons if they fail to answer the call for conscription.
Mr Swift suggested that instead of jail terms, fines could be imposed on those who refuse to register. He said: “I assume it will be fines rather than jail time or anything like that, due to: 1. Lack of prison space. 2. Difficulty in enforcement and lack of legitimacy and 3. This ‘conscription’, if introduced, will be heavily focused on monetary rewards.”
A YouGov poll of 3,044 people found that 38% of people under 40 said they would refuse to serve in the armed forces if another world war broke out, and 30% would not serve even if the UK faced an “imminent invasion”.
The same poll found that 72% support conscripting women as much as men.
During World War II, conscription began for men aged 20 to 22 in 1939, six months before the start of the war. But when war was declared, the age range was immediately expanded to any male between the ages of 18 and 41.
The only men who were not drafted were those who were too medically unfit or worked in vital industries such as baking, agriculture and medicine that were vital to the war effort.