In the House of Commons this week, Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest, championed the need to tackle the factors that draw young boys and men into knife crime, during a major House of Commons Debate on knife crime amongst children and young people, secured by fellow Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty.
In his comments, Dr Hudson praised former England football manager Sir Gareth Southgate for his reflections in his Richard Dimbleby Lecture this week. The lecture featured Sir Gareth Southgate’s thoughts on his life and footballing career, and the wider lessons of resilience, role models, social media and other factors that affect men and boys today.
Dr Hudson argued that Sir Gareth Southgate’s reflections on young men and boys needing positive role models, and the negative influence of social media, were crucially important in the context of tackling knife crime, ensuring young men and boys are given positive alternatives to knife crime and gang culture.
That knife crime debate followed Dr Hudson’s recent support for the Conservative Party’s amendment to the Children and Wellbeing Bill that would have mandated a ban on smartphones in schools for all pupils, following worrying evidence of the negative impact they are having on pupils academic learning and their wellbeing, including their mental health.
These issues have also been very much on the minds of young people in Epping Forest, and they have raised these with Dr Hudson himself, being a regular visitor at schools across the constituency, and a passionate advocate for the opportunities and voices of young people being heard.
During that Debate, Dr Hudson said:
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate and on making an impassioned speech. He is talking about the dangers of social media influencing boys and young men. One of the key aspects of that is their role in society and the lack of clear role models. Will he join me in paying tribute to the former England football manager, Sir Gareth Southgate, who, in his Richard Dimbleby lecture this week, articulated the importance of role models and of boys and young men getting involved in active sports, so that they then become normalised in that setting and are not drawn into this dreadfully violent world?
Following that Debate, Dr Hudson commented:
“From talking to young people across schools in Epping Forest, I know that knife crime is very much a concern for them, and of course for their parents and adults with a responsibility for our future generations.”
“Sir Gareth Southgate’s important and timely remarks on the issues facing young men and boys were not only powerful, but highly relevant to the issue of knife crime. The need to talk about our young men and boys about having positive role models they can aspire to, and the impact of social media and its influence Sir Gareth touched on, are vital factors in how we can provide alternatives to the dark and horrifying world of knife crime and gang violence.”
“Looking at these factors and at knife crime is no easy task, and we need to work cross-party to look at the ways we can address the issues facing young men and boys and create positive alternatives to lives blighted by knife crime.”
