LABOUR MPS URGE STARMER TO SET TARGETS FOR MALE TEACHERS

Labour backbench MPs have called on the government to establish targets for increasing the number of male teachers in England. The Men and Boys group, which includes more than 50 MPs, is also pressing for extended paternity leave. Ali Strathern, the group's co-chair and MP for Hitchin, stated that the government's pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers by the end of the parliament should be accompanied by national marketing campaigns similar to those promoting women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics roles. The push comes as the government faces internal turbulence following the resignation of the defence secretary.

Men represent only 24 per cent of teachers in England according to Department for Education data. Strathern highlighted that voters are focused on football, family and the cost of living rather than Westminster political drama. More than 50 government MPs, including former deputy leader Angela Rayner and former health secretary Wes Streeting, have participated in a campaign wearing England and Scotland football shirts to advocate for more than two weeks of paternity leave. The United Kingdom's paternity leave provision ranks among the worst in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and across Europe.

Peter Swallow, MP for Bracknell and a former teacher, argued that increasing male teachers represents a key tool in combating the manosphere following recent civil unrest in Belfast and Southampton. The MPs contend that addressing what they term a "crisis of masculinity" forms part of a broader effort to tackle toxic masculinity. The campaign represents an attempt by backbench MPs to shape government policy during a period of institutional uncertainty.