One fifth of Britons would join the armed forces if UK went to war

Leave voters more likely to support war if Britain's resources at risk, while Remain more concerned if foreign government was committing human rights abuses

Just 12 per cent of the population would volunteer to fight in a world war (Getty)

One fifth of Britons say they would be prepared to join the armed forces if the UK went to war, according to a YouGov poll.

When asked if they would enlist if Britain joined a war of similar severity to the Second World War, 20 per cent said yes – a decrease of five per cent from 2016, when YouGov asked the same question – while 70 per cent said no.

The poll found 18 to 24-year-olds were only marginally less likely to say yes (23 per cent) than the average, while 25 to 49-year-olds were least likely (16 per cent).

Men were more than twice as likely to join as women (27 per cent compared to 12 per cent).

There was no significant difference in the responses across social classes, suggesting the idea that “enthusiasm” for war is a question of class does not hold water.

YouGov asked 1,611 adults in Britain whether they would join the armed forces if Britain did not have compulsory conscription.

They also asked whether they thought it would be justifiable for Britain to take military action in several circumstances.

Overall, 83 per cent of Brits said they thought it would be justifiable to go to war if British lives were at risk.

While 56 per cent thought it would be justifiable to go to war if one of Britain’s allies was attacked, only 31 per cent said they supported humanitarian intervention.

Young people were found to be significantly more likely to support humanitarian intervention.

When it came to Brexit, the biggest difference between Leave and Remain voters was found to be between those who would support humanitarian intervention versus those who would support a war if British resources were threatened.

The study found 35 per cent of Remain voters supported intervening if a foreign government was committing human rights abuses, compared to 27 per cent of Leave voters.

However, 48 per cent of Leave voters supported intervening if a conflict threatened British resources, compared to 37 per cent of Remainers.