International Men’s Day

Wes Streeting Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

What a pleasure to follow the spokespeople for the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats, the hon. Members for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies) and for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray), whose contributions were very much in the spirit of what we have heard this afternoon. I can reassure both of them that the suicide prevention funding is not gone; it is devolved. This will be a challenge that we have to work through during this Parliament as we embrace devolution and set local authorities and health trusts free to spend as they choose. We will need to keep a focus to ensure that the emphasis on suicide prevention is not lost. I really welcome the challenge the hon. Members have brought and the spirit of it. I can confirm that we will be appointing a new men’s health ambassador, and I will keep the hon. Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield updated on that.

It is customary when beginning these debates to thank the Backbench Business Committee, as well as the hon. Member who opened the debate for their outstanding contribution, whether the speech was any good or not. I can honestly say, though, having been in this House for 10 years, that it is a rare moment to hear such a courageous speech as the one we heard opening this debate. We can be truly proud of my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury). I hope his constituents know how diligently he fights for them every single day here. He is a conviction politician; he is prepared to speak truth to power and use his influence to get things done for his community. Just through his words today, he will have had such an impact on so many people he will never meet, but who will none the less draw strength from his courage.

I do not think anyone listening to the powerful contributions from right hon. and hon. Members today could fail to be moved by what we have heard—nor could they be anything but truly appalled by all the terrible dad jokes. I think the contribution from my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) was truly the worst. I would like to get involved, Madam Deputy Speaker, but as is well known, I have absolutely no sense of humour—less sense of humour than Downing Street has for tolerating my jokes. I am not a fan of political jokes anyway, as too many end up getting elected. However, I did once hear of a Canadian politician who was popular with everyone—it’s probably not Trudeau. [Laughter.]

As I listened to the debate, two broad themes emerged. The first is how every day, many boys and men make wonderful contributions to our families, schools, communities and workplaces, and not just in jobs, roles and behaviours that are associated traditionally with masculinity and men, but in roles such as nurses, carers and primary school teachers. They have embraced a genuine commitment to equality—that no matter who someone is and where they are from, and whatever their background, sex or gender, they can grow up to be whoever they want to be.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) said so powerfully, the role of men and boys as allies, advocates, mentors and role models and their capacity for love, laughter and empathy inspire others, lift up our society, change lives and bring joy to those around them. I pay tribute particularly to two of the most important men in my life: my dad and his father, my grandad. For those who follow my family history, that is not the armed robber; it is the working-class east end Tory. I have to say that I have that in common with my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Chris Bloore), with his family heritage and political leanings.

Without those two men, I would not be standing here today. They have been a rock of stability and inspiration in life. My grandad was my closest friend and moral compass; my dad has been the rock of stability I needed, particularly when things were hardest in my childhood. I am lucky that both of my parents have always been in my life, but I must say that when I talk about being brought up by a single parent, the shorthand too often used in newspapers is “single mum”. As my dad often points out, he was the one who got the terrible teenage years and had to move out of the area to get me to move out before I hit the age of 30. I am very grateful to my dad, whom I love and admire very much.

We have heard powerful contributions today. I could not help but notice that almost everyone endorsed the Dad Shift campaign for greater paternity rights and leave. This Government are legislating for day one rights, but I know that the advocacy and representation that we have heard across the House will have been heard by my colleagues in Government. There will be a consultation, and I am sure that we have not heard the last of that.

None the less, for all the positivity, the second theme we have heard about today is an altogether less positive one. It is a startling reality that being and growing up as a man in today’s society can be very tough, especially for those from working-class backgrounds such as mine. My hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Dr Sandher) spoke powerfully about the economic injustice in our society, the poverty and inequality that add up to the pressures and strains, the educational disadvantage and the lack of security and opportunity that too often hold back people, and especially men and boys from backgrounds such as mine. Though I am proud to stand here today, proud of my working-class roots and proud of having beaten the odds that were stacked against me, the object of this Government—the object of the Labour party—has always been to change the odds for everyone and not just to have the exceptional few beat the odds. That is at the heart of this Government’s agenda.

I want to pay tribute to those who have brought this agenda to the mainstream. This debate is 10 years old, but I must remember and recall, back when it started, an awful lot of eye-rolling about whether it was necessary—including, I suspect, by me and others who wondered whether this was truly relevant. How wrong that sentiment was and how much of a brilliant riposte we have heard.

I pay particular tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters) who spoke so powerfully at Prime Minister’s questions about the “dark cloud” that hung over him following the difficult birth of his and his wife’s first child. As he said, the strength of a man is about being open about his emotions. Sometimes, as we have heard so painfully today, those struggles become so overwhelming that men feel that the only way out is to take their own lives. When that happens, it is not just an individual, personal tragedy; it is like a nuclear bomb and the fallout hits everyone around them, as my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson) spoke of so powerfully.

We know that that impacts men in different ways, from different backgrounds and in different sectors. During an interview on Fix Radio: The Builders Station yesterday, I was told that men in the construction industry are four times more likely to die by suicide. One of the biggest causes of stress and anxiety for tradesmen is tool theft. That is why I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin), who has been like a dog with a bone on that issue, with her campaign already delivering tougher punishments for the perpetrators of tool theft. Indeed, I promised Clive Holland, the host of Fix Radio, that I would pass on this message to the House. He said:

“I would love to stand up at that Dispatch Box and speak to all the people in Parliament…and I would grab them by the lapels and say, ‘Get it through…Just get it through. It’s crucial. We all need this industry. We’d still be living in caves without the skills of our industry’.”

He is absolutely right and that is why we are lucky to have my hon. Friend championing that issue on behalf of that industry.

The Government’s response to many of the issues raised in today’s debate is the country’s first ever men’s health strategy. It covers physical and mental health, and I am most proud that it was drawn up in partnership with men themselves, experts, men’s groups, charities and campaigners. We are all aware that politicians today are about as popular as tax collectors and traffic wardens, so we need wider allies and advocates, groups such as Movember, Men’s Sheds and Everton in the Community, which I had the pleasure of visiting last week. There are also campaigners such as Stephen Manderson, better known as Professor Green, and Clarke Carlisle, the premier league footballer, who use their own experiences with suicide and mental ill health to spread awareness and prevent that from happening to others. I also pay tribute to the journalists, such as the LBC philosopher king Tom Swarbrick, for talking about modern masculinity, the importance of male friendship and keeping the ties that bind us.

There are a number of ways in which we will act. First, by expanding access to support services; secondly, by helping men to take better care of ourselves; and thirdly, by ensuring that stigma is challenged and every man feels empowered to reach out for help. This is not just a plan; it is a call to action. It is not just about changing services and laws; it is about changing hearts and minds and culture, particularly in an online world of harms and radicalisation, as pointed out by my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Matt Turmaine), as well as many positives, as identified by my hon. Friend the Member for Ribble Valley (Maya Ellis).

Half the battle for men and boys is to have the conversation in the first place, opening up the space to utter what are often the most challenging words: “I need help.” That is why our strategy meets men on their own terms and their own turf—partnering with the Premier League’s “Together Against Suicide” initiative; investing £3 million in community-based men’s health programmes; workplace pilots with EDF to support workers in male-dominated industries; support for minors; and new research to help us tackle the biggest killers of men, including rising cocaine and alcohol-related deaths, as well as taking action on gambling, as my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Jim Dickson) exhorted us to. On prostate cancer, I will keep the House updated as we await the recommendations of the National Screening Committee. I heard the representations today, particularly from the hon. Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones) and my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey).

Our aim is to create a society where men and boys are supported to live longer, healthier and happier lives, where stigma is replaced by understanding and where every man knows that his health matters. As we heard so powerfully, including from some of this House’s most outstanding feminist campaigners, like my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy), this is not an either/or. This is not a choice between men and women; it is the recognition that while women’s health inequalities have sexism and misogyny layered on top of them—something that we as men must take responsibility for tackling, too—men and boys do face challenges when it comes to our education, employment, health, wellbeing, life chances and opportunities.

As we heard so powerfully, especially from my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North, it is not as if the women out there do not care about their sons, dads or brothers—quite the opposite. Similarly, we care about our mums, sisters, daughters, nieces, friends and colleagues. There are differences between the sexes—there are differences in how we are impacted by and contribute to the society around us—but we are born equal, and we have a responsibility to stand together to make sure that we create a rising tide that lifts all ships. A healthier, happier, more equal and more just society is what this strategy will help to bring about, and it is why this debate has been so wonderfully powerful.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

As the Secretary of State mentioned brothers, it would be remiss of me not to mention my five brothers—this will give Hansard a run for its money—Basharat, Nasim, Rasalat, Nazir and Imran, and obviously my husband David. Those wonderful men in my life have enabled me to be in this Chair today. I call Josh Newbury to wind up.