Suicide: Reducing the Stigma

Luke Evans Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Michelle Welsh (Sherwood Forest) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell.

Today’s debate on reducing the stigma associated with suicide is of grave importance to my constituents, particularly those in Ollerton, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. We know that the suicide rate is three times higher for men than for women, and although there are many contributing factors to that, one of the most significant is the stigma associated with asking for help and speaking up about mental health. There are so many societal pressures saying what men should be and how they should act. Often that involves appearing strong and as if they can face any problem head-on and by themselves. This starts very early. As a mother to a boy, I know that the attitude towards boys is often that they have to be strong, be tough and face things head on, and that crying is a weakness. It is ingrained by society in boys at a very young age. As a mother, I am consistently having to battle with those things.

The stigma of suicide affects not only the person struggling, but the people around them. Often loved ones do not know that someone is struggling and are left feeling confused and heartbroken. There is a ricochet effect to suicide, especially on the family and friends left behind. I know that because our family lost someone to suicide. The act of suicide leaves you grieving for a life gone too soon. It leaves questions, anguish and guilt and a space that will never be filled again. Mark was a son, a brother and a friend. I therefore welcome the Government’s landmark new health strategy, which will help to tackle men’s mental health challenges.

I want to take this opportunity to highlight the incredible work of a Nottingham organisation: In Sam’s Name. After the death of Sam Fisher, Sam’s friend Richard McHugh wanted to create a safe place for males to break the stigma of talking about their mental health and help them realise that they are not alone. Their peer support group helps members find strength from men who have previous experience, or are also suffering with mental health issues themselves. Through the power of conversation, friendship and support, men in Nottinghamshire are saving lives. I will never fail to be astonished at the ability of people who have experienced unimaginable pain to use that in pursuit of making the world a better place for others. The organisation runs several groups in Nottinghamshire communities, including in Ambleside community centre in Ollerton, and has a partnership with our fantastic local football team, Ollerton Town football club. It is vital that we take this conversation directly to men where they spend their time, and that—especially in my constituency—is at the football.

We must also ensure that our communities are equipped with the necessary infrastructure to give help and support when it is needed. Access to healthcare in Ollerton is poor. Given its rural nature and high levels of deprivation, it is no stranger to the struggle to access basic services. Deprivation is a huge factor in suicide: rates in areas of high deprivation are almost double those in areas of low deprivation. If we are to reduce the stigma around mental health and suicide, people, no matter where they are born in the country, need access to healthcare and support. For Ollerton, that must include a super health centre where people can walk in off the street and access the healthcare they need. Working in collaboration with Ollerton Town football club, we want to transform lives, and that could work in combination with a healthcare centre.

I hope that the Minister will join me in recognising the importance of access to health services and support in showing men that there are places to help and people willing to listen. Nowhere is that more important than in Ollerton, where there is such a high rate of male suicide. Perhaps he would like to get on a train to sunny Ollerton, visit the football club and meet In Sam’s Name—

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

indicated assent.

[Michelle Welsh]

The shadow Minister has obviously been to Ollerton before.

The Minister should go to see the fantastic work In Sam’s Name does, because it could be replicated across the country and have a huge impact. It would also allow him to see an area with fantastic people who support one another, but which is suffering because it does not have the services or infrastructure to combat suicide, and that is what we need to save young lives.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

I want to start by finishing where I left off in the main Chamber in the debate during Suicide Prevention Month. I talked about a TikTok meme that was going around about where men go, and who they turn to, when they are at their lowest. The answers in that video are all “no one”: “No one cares”; “There’s no one”; “It’ll be used against me.” I want to speak to the people in that video, because after I mentioned it, I received literally hundreds of messages, first to thank me for raising it, secondly to thank me for raging, because people are not listening, and thirdly to say, “Well, people don’t care.” Actually, the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) and the Members from across the parties in the Chamber today do care.

This is an ongoing conversation that we are having, and action has been taken by previous Governments and is being taken by this Government. We must get out the message that things are happening and that people are talking about it and are interested in it. This is being looked at and discussed at the highest possible level to bring in changes to make the world a little bit better. It is thanks to the pressure that we apply in this place that such changes are made, and I think it is important to get that on the record.

When it comes to men’s health, I am very keen to point out that this is not an “or” issue—it is not about women or men, but about women and men. That is particularly the case for mental health and mental wellbeing because woman partners often spot the issue first. Women are the advocates we all need when we are having this discussion, and it is important to make sure that is on the record too. The last Government brought forward the women’s health strategy, and we now have an allied men’s health strategy. They are not in competition, but work in conjunction, which I think is important.

I followed up September’s debate on suicide prevention with a letter to the Ministers to raise a few points, and I think it would be prudent for me to use my time to press them home a bit further. The first point was about the £10 million suicide prevention grant fund, which was brought in to deliver specific support for 79 organisations between August 2023 and March 2025. The fund has now run out, and after that was raised, the Minister for Care responded in answer to a written question:

“There are currently no plans to run another grant fund.”

However, in April he followed up by saying:

“We will be evaluating the impact of the fund, and the services that have been provided by the grant-funded organisations. Learning from this evaluation will help to inform the delivery of the Government’s mission to reduce the lives lost to suicide.”

In my letter, I asked whether we could have

“some details on the basis behind this decision”

as well as

“what alternate provision…is being provided”

and when we would hear about the evaluation. I was lucky enough to get a response on 13 November from the Minister in the other place who has responsibility for mental health. She addressed that point, but she simply said:

“As previously stated, the Department is evaluating the impact of the Suicide Prevention Grant Fund from 2023 to 2025, and the services that have been provided by the grant-funded organisations. The evaluation will be completed in due course and learnings from that evaluation will help to inform the delivery of the Government’s mission to reduce the lives lost to suicide.”

That is welcome news, but we have now gone from April to November, and I would like to understand when the evaluation will come, because it will be imperative in deciding how we take forward these services.

In that light, I welcome the men’s health strategy, particularly its emphasis on suicide. However, as my Liberal Democrat colleague, the hon. Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers), pointed out, the £10 million over two years seems to dwarf the £3.6 million across three years. That is a concern for the Opposition, especially when we look at how it is likely to be delivered, which is through the charity sector, as the national insurance changes have already taken a massive toll. For example, Mind has said that that tax increase will cost it £250,000, so its £1 million across a year suddenly starts to be whittled away. I am keen to understand how the Government will square that circle.

That leads me to my last point, which we have raised in the House before—I have certainly raised it both with the last Government and now with this one—on the issue of representation for men and boys. Before the election, the last Government were looking at having a men’s health ambassador. In my letter, I asked whether any consideration was being given to bringing in such an ambassador or about having a Minister for men and boys. I am open to suggestions about how that could work or would not work, but it strikes me that in the current climate, we have a Minister for Women, but not one for men and boys.

That leads me full circle back to where I started, which is that this is not an “or” issue, but an “and” issue. If we believe that women consult differently on their health, by definition men must do so too, so we need different pathways. The strategy is a good stepping stone from the Government, and I welcome it, but I just hope they use it as a springboard, rather than simply as a plank across a river.

We have talked a lot about the stigma, which is probably the most important thing, and heard a lot about how it is important to talk, but if we think about what the people in that TikTok video are really saying when they talk about how they feel there is no one, we as a society and this House have to not only listen, but show that we care, we have to make people believe that we care, and we have to follow that up with actions to allow people, in particular men, to get the help they need to help themselves. That is really important.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephen Kinnock]

My hon. Friend is right. I do not know whether there is a connection, but it is possible that some of the perhaps more macho attitudes in some sporting environments are connected to the difficulties that some men—particularly men in those environments—have in reaching out, talking and being honest and open about their feelings. There may well be a connection. However, I hope that other sporting federations—the Rugby Football Union, the Welsh Rugby Union or whichever sporting association it might be—will look at what the Premier League is doing, and that we will perhaps see a blossoming of these initiatives across other sports and sporting disciplines.

The Premier League’s reach is unmatched. The partnership will engage men who are less likely to seek help and more likely to suffer in silence, meeting them in spaces that they trust, rather than waiting for them to access traditional health services.

[Dr Luke Evans]

It is great to hear about the Together Against Suicide partnership with the Premier League, but will the Minister explain how it works? Having looked at the details, it appears to be run in conjunction with the Samaritans. Is extra funding coming from the Premier League or from the Government to run the scheme? If the Samaritans provide the signposting, how are they being supported? In essence, it looks like an area to people together. Is that correct?

[Stephen Kinnock]

There are 11 premier league clubs that have signed up so far. The most visual way in which the partnership will manifest itself is through the advertising hoardings, which will be given over for periods of the game to advertise our Every Mind Matters campaign. That will offer talking therapies and an online mental health tool that we have developed. Anybody in the stadium—often there are 50,000, 60,000 or 70,000 spectators—can see that information flashing up. In some stadiums, there will also be mental health experts—wearing visible materials to show who they are and what they do—who people can come and talk to. The scheme is quite devolved, so each club will do things in a slightly different way. The Premier League is covering all the costs, so this is an entirely Premier League-funded partnership, with us providing the content, the steering and the opportunity to engage with the programmes, and the clubs are looking after the rest.