Tory MP Philip Davies claims men have ‘lost their voice’ ahead of debate on International Men’s Day

Political correctness has “neutered” men to such an extent that they have lost their voice, a Tory MP has claimed ahead of a debate on International Men’s Day.

Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, made the comments hours before a general debate in the Commons, which will discuss International Men’s Day for the first time.

Last year Labour MP Jess Phillips said she felt as though “every day” was International Men’s Day when Mr Davies asked the backbench business committee in Westminster to allocate time to a discussion. International Women’s Day itself dates back to the early 20th century and in some countries is observed as an official holiday.

But Mr Davies has rejected that the event is a stunt. He added: “In many respects I would prefer that neither were necessary and I would rather the issues were mainstream and you didn’t have to have an International Men’s Day to raise men’s issues or an International Women’s Day to raise women’s issues.

“But given that these issues don’t get discussed, it is just a useful way to highlight some of these issues”.

Earlier this year Mr Davies was the centre of controversy after a recording emerged of him speaking at a men’s rights conference hosted by an anti-feminist party. He told an audience that “feminist zealots really do want women to have their cake and eat it” in a 45-minute speech.

The Conservative MP added that the debate on Thursday will cover issues including suicide rates and educational under-achievement among young men.

In an article for the Times Red Box the outspoken MP Shipley wrote, “political correctness has neutered men to such an extent, that in many areas, they have completely lost their voice”.

He added: “Today in Parliament, and on International Men’s Day on Saturday, there is a chance to focus on men’s issues. The aims of International Men’s Day are laudable. They include promoting male role models, celebrating the contribution men make, focusing on men’s health and wellbeing as well as highlighting discrimination against men.

“Parliament is full of institutional political correctness. When it comes to women, we have a women and equalities minister, a select committee for women and equalities, a women and equalities question time — not to mention the discussion of many strategies that deal only with women in politics and the wider world. In addition, until recently, we have had a big debate on International Women’s Day with no such equivalents for men.”

In the article he claims that some people in Britain advocate what he calls “equality but only when equality suits”. In an example, he adds: “Men in prison on the basic regime have to wear a prison uniform. Women in prison do not. How can this be fair? Where’s the equality in that?"