John Allan, former chairman of Tesco, has suggested that young people who are not in work, education, or training should be required to undergo military training in exchange for receiving

welfare benefits.

His remarks come amid growing debate over Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans to cut welfare spending. Speaking to Times Radio, Allan argued that benefit payments for younger people could be made conditional on participation in either military or municipal work programs.

“There’s no reason to believe these young people are any less capable of working, provided they’re given the right training and opportunities,” Allan said. “But they may need more than encouragement—perhaps a degree of coercion—to get started.”

When pressed on what he meant by coercion, he explained that benefits could be tied to job-seeking efforts or participation in structured programs. “Getting into the habit of waking up early and doing something productive can be habit-forming,” he added. “Reintroducing military training could also help boost our defence capabilities, which is another pressing issue.”

Allan’s comments come at a time when the UK is attempting to rebuild its armed forces, which experts say have been significantly weakened in recent decades. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer recently pledged to increase defence spending from 2.3% of GDP to 2.5%—a £13.4 billion annual rise by 2027—with plans to raise it further to 3% by 2034.

Defence Secretary John Healey has previously warned that the armed forces are currently unprepared to respond to a major conflict. The government has since allocated £1.3 billion toward army recruitment in an effort to reverse the decline.

At the same time, the Labour government is under fire for plans that could see up to one million disabled people lose their benefits as part of a broader strategy to reduce the country’s growing welfare bill. Ministers have defended the cuts, citing a “moral” obligation to address the fact that 2.8 million people are currently not working due to health issues, with one in eight young people not in education, employment, or training.

Allan emphasized the need for “urgent, accelerated training programmes” to help reintegrate those currently outside the workforce. Photo: Andrew Linnett/MOD, Wikimedia commons.