Sir Keir Starmer says minister for men ‘not the answer’ to ‘problem with boys’ raised in Netflix drama Adolescence
Sir Keir Starmer has rejected the idea of creating a minister for men to combat some of the issues raised in the hit Netflix drama Adolescence.
Sir Keir said he was “worried” about the “crisis in masculinity” raised in the programme, which centres on a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a young girl and the rise of incel culture.
The themes touched upon in the show have led to suggestions that the government introduce a minister for men to mirror the women and equalities minister that currently exists in the cabinet.
But speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, the prime minister said he did not think appointing a new minister was “the answer” to the problems affecting young boys today, including negative and harmful social media content and a lack of visible role models.
“I am worried about this; I’ve got a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl,” he said.
“There’s a reason why the debate has suddenly sparked into life on this and that’s because I think a lot of parents, a lot of people who work with young people at school or elsewhere, recognise that we may have a problem with boys and young men that we need to address.”
Sir Keir said he was more persuaded by arguments put forward by former England manger Gareth Southgate, who argued in a recent lecture that young men lacked positive role models, making them vulnerable to online influencers who promoted negative ideologies about the world and women.
“I’ve been in touch with Gareth,” the prime minister said. “I know Gareth. I thought his lecture, what he was saying, was really powerful, will have resonated with a lot of parents.
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Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in Adolescence. Pic:Netflix
“And I do think this is something that we have to take seriously, we have to address. We can’t shrug our shoulders at it.”
Asked whether a minister for men would help, Sir Keir said: “No, I don’t think that’s the answer.
“I think it is time for listening carefully to what Gareth Southgate was saying and responding to it.
“I want to have that further discussion with him. We’ve already had a bit of a discussion about this, but I do think it’s important we pick this challenge up and see it for what it is.”
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Stephen Graham says he wanted to bring the issue
Delivering the BBC’s annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture, Mr Southgate revealed how his experience of missing a penalty at Euro 96 “still haunts me today”.
And he warned that “callous” influencers online were tricking young men into thinking women and the world were against them, causing them to “withdraw” into the online world and express their emotions there rather than in “real-world communities.
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He said a “void” in their search for direction is often now being filled by some influencers who “willingly trick young men into believing that success is measured by money or dominance”.
In his interview with the BBC, Sir Keir suggested footballers and athletes could be role models for boys and young men but said there was also a need for inspirational people in communities.
Asked who the British male role models were, Sir Keir told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I always go to sport for this. Footballers, athletes, I think they are role models.
“But I also think if you actually ask a young person, they’re more likely to identify somebody who’s in their school, a teacher, or somebody who maybe is a sports coach, something like that.
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“So we need to make sure that – this is something that dads do, dad would reach for a sort of sporting hero – I think children, young people, are more likely to reach someone closer to them, within their school, within their community.
“And that’s, I think, where we need to do some of the work.”
The UK has never had a minister for men but previous Conservative MPs, including former Doncaster MP Nick Fletcher, have called for one in the past to tackle high rates of suicide among men.
The position of minister for women was created by former Labour prime minister Tony Blair as a means of prioritising women’s issues across government.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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