If the new medal does come in it will bring to an end the issue of medals which are among the longest to be continually issued to HM Forces. The RN LS & GC was instituted in 1831, and its current reverse design (a depiction of a three masted man of war) was introduced in 1848, an unbroken run of 167 years to date. The RAF LS & GC was instituted in 1919 and once again the reverse design has not changed since.
The original qualification period for the RAF medal was 18 years, this was only reduced to 15 years in 1977. Prior to 1947 the medal was not awarded to officers, subsequently they could receive it if they had at least 12 years service before being commissioned. RN officers could only receive their LS & GC after 1981, with the same requirement for previous non-commissioned service.
I understand that recent issues of the RAF LS & GC have been in silver plate, not silver. It would be nice if the new medal was in silver, but I'm not optimistic!