Starmer announces national summit on challenges facing men and boys

Sir Keir Starmer has announced that his Government will hold a national summit on the challenges facing men and boys next year.

The Prime Minister told an International Men’s Day reception at 10 Downing Street that issues such as men’s mental health and online misogyny “demand a national response”.

And he said he was tasking Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and victims minister Alex Davies-Jones with leading the Government’s efforts to tackle problems facing men.

He said: “It has to be a whole-of-society effort. And so we can understand these issues more deeply, we are going to bring people together for a national summit on men and boys next year.”

Labour’s manifesto committed the party to halving violence against women and girls in a decade, and Mr Lammy said men and boys “have to be part of this conversation”.

He said: “We need to show them that real strength is respect, not control. It’s standing up for others, not against them. It means listening, not shouting. Protecting, not harming.

“But we must also be honest, and understand the unprecedented challenges men and boys face in today’s world. Too many are suffering in silence – ashamed to ask for help. Convinced they should just ‘man up’.

“It’s an honour for me to spearhead this government’s work to give men and boys the support they deserve – from tackling the crisis in male mental health to challenging violence against women and girls.”

Sir Keir’s announcement followed the publication of the Government’s strategy for men’s health on Wednesday, which aims to tackle problems such as suicide, alcohol abuse and problem gambling.

The Government plans to invest £3.6 million over the next three years in suicide prevention projects for middle-aged men in local communities where men are at most risk of taking their own lives, including some of the most deprived parts of England.

Sir Keir also announced a three-year partnership with the Premier League to use “the power of football to reach men where they are” and provide services or advice at football matches.

He said: “We know that if people don’t want to talk about things, don’t want to take that step, asking them to do something extraordinary or take a path they wouldn’t normally take to get there is harder, saying why don’t you turn up 20 minutes early for the footie and there’ll be somebody there to talk to or a service you might want to access.”

And he insisted that supporting men and boys was not a “zero-sum game”, telling Wednesday’s reception: “We don’t need to pit genders against each other. It’s not one or the other, we can have both.

“A positive agenda for men and boys is not at the expense of women and girls.”

The event, which Sir Keir said was the first International Men’s Day reception to be held at Number 10, was attended by representatives of charities and businesses along with celebrities who championed men’s mental and physical health.

They included footballers Jamie Carragher and Conor Coady, comedians Elis James and John Robins, former England rugby player Ugo Monye, Movember campaigners Bobby and Kay Bansal and influencer Pete Wicks.

Earlier in the day, Sir Keir posted a video message to his son on Instagram, in which he talked about how “proud” he was of him and how he enjoys sharing a takeaway.

The Prime Minister talked of his strained relationship with his father and said he had always been determined that his bond with his son “was going to be different”.