CPRMB urges new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to keep up the momentum on men and boys as shown by his predecessor

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The challenges men and boys face align well with the Andy Burnham's goal of focusing on places and cost of living. We at the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys have been focusing on the differential impact of policies on men and women. These all align.

Among the most urgent priorities for government is to get the more than a million NEETs out of welfare dependency and into education, training or work. And this needs to happen where they live. This week’s unemployment rates show a 12-year high for young men aged 18-24 (16.8% for March-May 2026).

So revitalising Further Education is also a priority, with better strong leadership ,  and governance and more resources aimed at frontline teaching. Turning the ever-spoken desire for "parity of esteem" with higher education into reality cannot wait a moment longer. The same should be said for steering young men and boys towards careers in health and social care, under the "This Boy Cares" banner.

Our Boys' Education Commission is examining how to repurpose our education system so that both boys and girls do equally well. We need an education system for the girls AND the boys.

We need to do more now to support fathers. More paternity leave but also more high performing employers who want to nurture and keep their working parents not drive them away due to rigid outdated thinking.

This is on top of the challenges of increasing male suicide rates, decade-high male unemployment rates and too many men going to prison.

There has been much progress recognising that men and boys in our country face a multitude of problems - compounded by race, place and poverty. The policy direction under the previous Prime Minister was to both recognise these problems and to look for answers.

He and the Deputy Prime Minister also put together an excellent and dedicated team working on this - it is important they stay intact. In the same vein, it is vital the promised Men and Boys’ Summit still takes place, the impetus on the Men’s Health Strategy is not lost, and, not forgetting online harms and mentoring for young men and boys’ too. Ensuring there is Cabinet Level responsibility for delivery is absolutely crucial.

We cannot afford to let this policy momentum slip. It would be to the detriment of men and boys, women and girls, and, our country.

We stand ready to support.

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