The Labour MP leading the Government's work on issues affecting men and boys has called for a revival of dedicated male spaces, arguing they are vital to tackling Britain's male suicide crisis.
Speaking exclusively to Gloria De Piero on GB News in his first TV interview to be broadcast on Sunday, Jake Richards said communities had lost many of the institutions that once gave men a sense of purpose, identity and belonging.
His intervention comes in the same week that former England manager Gareth Southgate released a documentary examining the pressures facing modern boys and young men.
Mr Richards, who has been tasked by the Prime Minister with leading on the Government's men and boys' agenda, said Britain should do more to support places where men can come together and talk openly about their lives.
"I definitely think that we need those cultural institutions where men have historically and continue to come together to talk about what's going on in their lives, to have that male space," he said.
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. And indeed, it should be embraced and backed up."
Mr Richards said the disappearance of traditional industries and community institutions had left many men struggling to find the same sense of purpose which previous generations enjoyed.
"But for boys and men, there's a specific issue, because there is this cultural pressure to be the breadwinner, to have that masculine sense of purpose of achieving," he said.
Justice Minister Jake Richards sat down for an exclusive interview with Gloria De Piero
|GB NEWS
Reflecting on the former mining communities he represents in Rother Valley, Mr Richards said: "I represent a constituency which has a lot of ex-pit towns.
"These are communities, villages, towns which were built around the pit, which have now been closed for decades."
When Ms De Piero suggested the jobs had been "well-paid" and "respected", Mr Richards agreed.
"Very respected. It was part of a camaraderie. You were a group. You went down the pit. You worked hard. You went to the working men's club in the evening. You were playing football or rugby or cricket at the weekends at the local club. It was part of a community."
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When Ms De Piero suggested the jobs had been 'well-paid' and 'respected', Mr Richards agreed.
|GB NEWS
While stressing he was not nostalgic for a bygone age, Mr Richards argued many communities had lost the institutions that once brought men together.
"Those jobs aren't there anymore. And I'm not nostalgic in the sense that everything was better in the 70s and 60s.
"There were huge challenges and problems then, but I do think that a lot of the communities that I represent don't have that obvious male role in the communities that they once did."
"And I think that's a massive challenge for a lot of the blokes in my constituency."
Mr Richards said concern about male suicide became a priority shortly after he entered Parliament in 2024.
"One of the reasons why male suicide is such an issue that I'm trying to address is that when I became the MP in the first few weeks of the summer of 2024, I kept getting phone calls about incidents of men who had taken their own lives in my constituency.
"They hadn't had a history of depression or anything like that. None of their family members knew."
The experiences prompted him to visit groups including Andy's Man Club, which supports men struggling with their mental health.
"So, I started talking and I went to groups like Andy's Man Club, a brilliant voluntary organisation in Maltby in my constituency, talking to men who perhaps were going through difficult periods and trying to learn about what we can do as a society and as a government to try and help them."
Mr Richards also warned against allowing concern about online influencers to overshadow the wider issues facing boys and men.
Mr Richards said concern about male suicide became a priority shortly after he entered Parliament in 2024
|GB NEWS
"We know that the manosphere, Andrew Tate, these kinds of male figures. I think a lot of their content is dangerous and toxic. And we want to try and ensure that men don't go down that rabbit hole.
"I want to stress that the vast majority of boys and men completely reject that kind of misogyny, that kind of hate, that kind of criminal activity, frankly.
"So, we need to be really careful that we don't assume that all men are sort of these awful people. Far from it.
"And actually, the big thing, I think, is about empowering men and boys to challenge the stupidity of some of these comments."
Asked whether he was personally comfortable discussing his emotions, Mr Richards admitted opening up had not always come naturally.
"My wife would say no," he joked. "I definitely have felt growing up as a boy and then a man that it's not your natural role in society to talk about your feelings.
"Your role, even with your mates, is to turn up, whatever you're going through."
But he said attitudes were beginning to change.
"You might be watching the telly with your mates, watching a football game or at the ground itself, and you're watching a game, but you're actually talking about what's going on in your life.
"And over the course of the game, you get into quite deep stuff and you can help one another about things that are happening in work, in your personal life."