Contribution
It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) for leading the debate and sharing some of his childhood experiences. I think he has turned out all right, by the way; I think we probably all think that, and we congratulate him.
I deeply value the opportunity to be a positive role model myself, in my role as a father and a grandfather. I have six grandchildren, three girls and three boys. It is different being a grandfather. A dad has a stronger role, but a grandfather enjoys all the good times. The great thing about being a grandfather is that at 7 o’clock at night, I can give them back, just at the stage when they are getting stroppy and want things that maybe their grandfather cannot give them.
I am very pleased and privileged to have a good relationship with my three sons. I am also very thankful for my good wife, who has stuck with me over 39 years of married life. I am also very thankful for our godly father, who believed in loving his son and expecting good things, but also giving grace and love. My dad is dead some 11 years, but not a day passes that I do not miss him. I can only hope to have a similar relationship with my three sons and indeed with my grandchildren.
One of the headings in the House of Commons Library briefing is “Lads Need Dads”. They do. Many young men today find themselves facing what can only be described as a real crisis of value and purpose. While personal testimony alone is powerful, the research backs it up. Fatherlessness has been proven to have profound consequences for young men’s mental health, educational achievements and futures. This is an issue that is aptly termed not as lads need dads, but as a lost boys crisis.
In Northern Ireland, there are specific education and employment challenges facing working-class men, with male working-class pupils continuing to experience some of the poorest educational outcomes. That, combined with the decline of traditionally male-dominated, skills-based manufacturing industries, has removed many of the employment opportunities that were once accessible to those young men, and especially to their dads. That has led to concerning levels of economic inactivity among young men, creating a worrying cycle in which young men are left without a clear sense of purpose or belonging. The “Lost Boys” report of 2025 highlighted that, shockingly, boys in the United Kingdom are more likely to own a smartphone than to live with their father.
What difference does this make to young boys growing up today? As the presence of a positive role model is increasingly removed, boys turn, lost, to other things or people—people like controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate, who promotes harmful ideologies and reinforces damaging attitudes towards women. The hon. Member for Bishop Auckland referred to that. I was brought up to be respectful towards women, and that is what we should do.
We should certainly not underestimate the devastating consequences. Northern Ireland’s male suicide rates remain consistently higher than those of England and Wales. That is in my constituency, among the people I represent—it is real and it is happening. It should make every one of us stop and think about what we can do to ensure that these young men have the support that they need. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place. Does he agree that more needs to be done to support positive male role models, perhaps through mentorship programmes, which will ensure the wellbeing of our young men for the future?
This is not about suggesting that a child must grow up in a certain type of family. A positive role model can be a father, a teacher, a youth worker, a sports coach or an employer. In a world where children have access to so many voices, what matters is that they see men who demonstrate responsibility, integrity, kindness and respect for others. If we can demonstrate those four things, we can inspire young people for tomorrow. There are those whose mums take on both roles. These women are to be admired, and we are so thankful for all that they do, but there is a place for men. We need to encourage men to understand that while their relationship with others may sour, their children are theirs to help guide and love for life. That is an honour we should all cherish.