Male Suicide in Rotherham

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jake Richards]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. Just on Friday, I had the Defence Secretary, who is with us today, and the Veterans Minister in Dinnington to speak with veterans groups and organisations. Mental health provision was right at the top of the agenda, as it should be. Beyond each individual tragedy is a wider story. There is a specific challenge for policymakers in grappling with male suicide.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman, who I spoke to beforehand. This is his first Adjournment debate, and it is on a subject that every one of us understands only too well. I am saddened to hear the vast number of reasons contributing to male suicide in his constituency. There is certainly more to be done to support men across the UK. Suicide happens everywhere and especially in men—70% of the suicides in Northern Ireland are men. The majority of them occur in deprived areas. Does he agree that we need greater accessibility to mental health services in deprived areas to ensure that men are not left behind?

[Jake Richards]

I agree with the hon. Member, who makes a characteristically pithy point.

John Leaver, who does incredible work with men in tough times in Kiveton Park and Wales in my constituency, is in many ways the inspiration for the debate and the campaign I intend to run in Rotherham. John works with men and women, but has extensive experience of the particular issues that men face in his area. He has often been the person telling me of another suicide, and not infrequently it is somebody he knows well, played football with, went to school with or is an old family friend. He spoke to me about the effect of the decline of post-industrial towns and villages, such as Kiveton Park, Dinnington, Maltby and Thurcroft in my constituency, on men and notions of masculinity. Those places were built on the back of coalmining—a proud tradition of honest hard work, offering a sense of purpose and meaning for generations of young men. We should not simply look back with rose-tinted spectacles, but after the closure of the pits, we have too often struggled to replace that social fabric for men. These remain brilliant communities with a long-standing sense of solidarity and camaraderie, but too many within them still feel lost.

Even worse, too many men feel victimised or attacked. I was recently struck by the words of musician Sam Fender in a newspaper interview. Speaking about the towns in the north-east of England that he grew up in, he said lads were

“being shamed all the time and made to feel like they’re a problem. It’s this narrative being told to white boys from nowhere towns.”

I fear there is some truth to that—that men from towns built in a bygone era feel they are a problem in modern times. I want to play my part as the local MP in changing that, and I am not alone. Brilliant organisations in my constituency already do fantastic work. Andy’s Man Club in Maltby and Kiveton Park meet every Monday evening. Better Today, run by John Leaver, is incredible at supporting men in times of real difficulty. There are many fantastic sports clubs and associations, from boxing in Dinnington to Swallownest FC and Maltby Main FC. There are the regular coffee mornings, the walking and rambling clubs, and the monthly men’s breakfast in Anston. They all play a vital role in supporting men in difficult circumstances.