Prime Minister celebrates Hitchin youth worker at PMQs

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP

THURSDAY 25^th JUNE 2026

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/03ddba_0f0cff60fe574bcc981e8491e5129ff5/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Dan Gaze, a local Hitchin youth worker, in Parliament yesterday following a Gareth Southgate documentary in which Gaze featured.

Starmer was responding to a question from Hitchin MP, Alistair Strathern. Strathern praised Southgate’s documentary, Dan, and the young men from Hitchin Boys School interviewed as part of the documentary.

Strathern asked the Prime Minister how we can build on great work by individuals like Gaze, to expand coaching and mentorship for young men across the country. The Prime Minister spoke about the youth hubs the Government was opening across the country. He added that Gaze represented ‘the best of Britian’.

Dan Gaze has coached and mentored dozens and dozens of young people across Hertfordshire, helping them to unleash their potential. After serving time in prison, Gaze set out to change local boys’ lives by giving them the chances and support he did not have.

Alistair Strathern is co-chair of the Labour Group for Men and Boys, which is advocating for progressive support for young men including more mentors, employment support and a reframing of seeing young men not as problems to manage, but real community assets to unlock.

Gareth Southgate: Changing the Game for Young Men aired at the start of June. It saw Gareth travel across the country to see the challenges facing this generation of young men, and how we can work together to tackle them. As part of the documentary, Southgate went to a Hitchin Town match and spoke to fans about mentorship.

Alistair Strathern MP said:

“It was great to see Dan’s extraordinary work given national airtime in Gareth Southgate’s timely documentary. Dan’s work is one of the many important solutions to the challenges facing young men.

“I was really pleased to see the Prime Minister yesterday share my belief in the importance of role models for young men and give Dan a shout out in the Commons.

“I’m determined to ensure every young man growing up in Britain today can benefit from positive role models like Dan, and today was a great moment to highlight how important their work can be in Parliament.

“The Government’s £500m in youth facilities and programmes will be a game changer, but I’ll be continuing to press them to go further to get more men into teaching and youth work roles.”

Notes for Editors

You can see Strathern’s question to the Prime Minister, here

You can also find attached a picture of Strathern with Dan Gaze outside No 10 Downing Street. Strathern invited Gaze to No 10’s International Men’s Day reception.