By Editor Eleanor Harding
Girls should be 鈥榤obilised鈥 to stop boys becoming unemployable 鈥榳astes of space鈥, Lord Blunkett has said.
The former Labour education secretary said schools should empower girls to 鈥榚xpect more鈥 from the boys they have relationships with.
It would stop boys 鈥榯aking it as read鈥 that girls will be interested in them even with a poor work ethic and attitude, he said.
The prospect of being shunned by girls would be an 鈥榠ncredibly powerful鈥 incentive to prevent boys failing in life.
He pointed out that many boys try to copy influencers such as Andrew Tate instead of striving to become useful citizens.
To combat this, Lord Blunkett, 78, suggested schools promote 鈥榩ositive masculinity鈥 to form the 鈥榝athers of the future鈥.
He told The Mail on Sunday: 鈥榃e need to mobilise the girls to ensure that they get the message across that if you鈥檙e a waste of space, we don鈥檛 want to know you.鈥
Lord Blunkett, who grew up in poverty, addressed concerns about the underachievement of boys.
They have always performed worse than girls at GCSE and are less likely to enter university.
Boys need to be shown the link between hard work and a good future in their early teens before they 鈥榮witch off鈥 and 鈥榮ee it as not for them鈥, he said, adding that boys who 鈥榳ant a relationship with young women鈥 should be shown the need to step up.
This year, the National Education Union revealed a rise in boys becoming radicalised by online 鈥榠ncel鈥 culture and Andrew Tate, a self-professed 鈥榤isogynist鈥 YouTuber. Often these pupils become disengaged in school and develop dark views about women.
Lord Blunkett said: 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to have to engage every mechanism, and one of those is for girls to say 鈥渂oys, we鈥檙e not going to have anything to do with you unless you start engaging with your own future, because otherwise we鈥檒l be carrying you.鈥
鈥楾hat sends a message to young men who feel like victims… it鈥檚 your own future in your hands, it鈥檚 not somebody else鈥檚 fault you鈥檙e a waste of space, it鈥檚 yours.
The peer, who served as Tony Blair鈥檚 education secretary, said during his childhood in Sheffield boys would often go into apprenticeships aged 15 where they would be 鈥榤entored鈥 by men.
鈥楾hey were role models, and they were support mechanisms,鈥 he said. 鈥楾his challenge to boys should not be a threat.
鈥楾his idea that somehow masculinity is being denigrated is wrong.
鈥榃hat you鈥檝e got to do is demonstrate your masculinity in an incredibly positive way.鈥
Lord Blunkett said the fact that so many boys are ending up as Neet 鈥 not in education, employment and training 鈥 is 鈥榖ad for them鈥, 鈥榖ad for the economy鈥 and 鈥榗orrosive of the social fabric鈥.
The issue is particularly stark for boys from a white working-class background 鈥 who are the lowest-achieving group in the country.