WE WILL NOT SEND OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO A WAR WE DO NOT SUPPORT

Recent discussion about Britain preparing for the possibility of war and the prospect of conscription has deeply alarmed many people.

We, the undersigned, say clearly and peacefully:

We do not consent to our sons and daughters being compelled to fight and die in a war that they, and the British public, have had no meaningful say in.

War is not an abstract political decision. It means young men and women leaving their families, potentially never returning home. It means parents losing children, children losing parents, and ordinary families living with the consequences for generations.

Those making decisions about war may operate from protected government buildings and secure facilities. The people who would bear the greatest human cost, however, would be ordinary servicemen and women, their families and civilians.

Our children are not expendable.

They are not statistics.

And their lives must never be treated as the price of political decisions made without proper democratic consent.

We call upon the Government to pursue diplomacy and de-escalation wherever reasonably possible and to make an unequivocal commitment that no system of compulsory military service or conscription will be introduced without full Parliamentary scrutiny and meaningful consultation with the British public.

Britain’s servicemen and women deserve our respect. This petition is not directed against them. It is about ensuring that any decision requiring people to make the ultimate sacrifice carries the highest possible level of democratic accountability.

Whatever our politics, we can unite around one principle:

No government should compel our sons and daughters to fight a war without the British people having a meaningful voice in that decision.

Not in our name. Not without our consent.