Mike Bell: Men's Issues Westminster Insider

Описание: Mike Bell is the sort of man Westminster quietly relies on but never quite knows what to do with. He’s spent years politely kicking down the doors nobody else will touch — family courts, boys’ education, domestic-abuse politics — and doing it with the calm, data-driven patience of someone who has watched far too many policymakers panic at the mere sight of the word “men.”

If you’ve ever wondered who actually reads all the government consultations, who gently guides MPs away from political self-immolation, and who has the receipts for every unspoken taboo about men and boys in Britain… it’s Mike. He’s basically the civilised version of a whistleblower: impeccably briefed, charmingly reasonable, and quietly furious about the systems we expect families and boys to survive.

Our conversation starts in the family courts — the bureaucratic funhouse where good intentions go to die. As Mike explains, the system doesn’t just handle conflict; it manufactures it. Parents walk in with disagreements and walk out with allegations because the legal-aid incentive structure practically begs them to lob grenades at each other. The Pathfinder Courts might fix this… if politicians ever stop hyperventilating about being accused of betraying women.

We then wade into the political third rail: boys’ education. Mike has run inquiries, visited schools, and compiled the evidence, and here’s the scandal — the gender attainment gap isn’t some great mystery. It’s literacy, structure, attention, and time. Not a multi-million-pound technology solution. Not a national taskforce. Just patient adults helping children read. Dinner ladies can do it. Cleaners can do it. PhD students can do it in their lunch break. And when boys get that support? They fly.

So naturally, MPs refuse to talk about it. Mike even emailed every speaker before the International Men’s Day debate with the data. Not one mentioned boys’ education. Not. One. The political fear is that intense.

Meanwhile, the consequences compound: lost confidence, disengagement, and the conveyor belt toward a prison system where 80% of inmates left school without basic qualifications. Universities drift further towards 55% female intake, and the professions reliant on technically trained men quietly clench.

But here’s the good news: Mike isn’t content with writing elegant reports that gather dust. He’s co-founding the Centre for Policy Research on Men & Boys, the UK’s answer to Richard Reeves’ work in the US. A grown-up, evidence-based outfit designed to de-weaponise these issues, give MPs cover to speak honestly, and push for practical reforms that make lives better instead of more politicised.

Talking to Mike is like being shown the wiring behind the wall — suddenly everything makes sense, including why nothing ever changes. But it also leaves you with something rare: the sense that change is possible, just not if we leave it to the people who are scared of their own press releases.

If men and boys ever get the thoughtful, balanced policy attention they’ve been missing for decades, it will be down to people like him.

0:00–4:30
The long grind of family court reform
The “Pathfinder Courts” pilot
Why domestic-abuse-lobby fear controls MPs’ willingness to engage
4:30–8:30
The political taboo: separated families
Struggles reviving the APPG on Family Separation
MPs terrified of being labelled anti-women
8:30–13:00
Family Hubs: a simpler doorway into support
Lord Farmer’s vision
One-stop triage for families before conflict escalates
Helping parents understand alternatives (mediation, advice, etc.)
13:00–16:30
How the court system creates conflict
Lawyers prompting parents to produce accusations
Incentive structures for legal aid
The “write down the 5 worst things about your ex” dynamic
Domestic abuse claims spiking after policy change
16:30–23:30
Boys’ educational underachievement
Findings from Mike’s inquiry into schools that closed the gap
Common patterns of successful interventions
His forthcoming Routledge book
Why MPs ignore this issue (taboo)
Schools not consciously biased but structurally disadvantaging boys
Literacy gaps: 75% of girls “school ready” vs 60% of boys
23:30–27:00
Why literacy interventions are simple and effective
Low-language children can progress in six weeks
Case studies: dinner ladies, cleaners, PhD students helping kids read
How early literacy changes lifelong outcomes
Link to prisons: 80% of male inmates left school without basic qualifications
27:00–29:00
55% of university entrants now female
Consequences for professions like engineering and medicine
Cultural disinterest in fixing the male education gap
29:00–36:00
Founding of the Centre for Policy Research on Men & Boys (CPRMB)
Inspired by Richard Reeves’ Institute for Boys & Men (US)
Plans for research, engagement, boys’ education projects
36:00–End
What’s next

Find Mike
https://menandboys.org.uk/
https://x.com/evidence_1st
https://equi-law.uk/
https://equi-law.uk/appg-menboys/