MP criticises “political correctness” in Doncaster Council women’s safety survey

The council tweeted a survey last week which was open to those who “identify as a woman”.

Don Valley MP Nick Fletcher criticised a tweet from Doncaster Council this week, claiming that the wording was a “micro-agression”.

The tweet, which linked to a survey on women’s safety, read: “If you identify as a woman, aged 16 years+ – we want to hear about how safe you feel in Doncaster.”

Mr Fletcher took to Facebook to criticise the tweet’s wording. He said: “What confusion are we creating? As I said yesterday ‘little by little’ they are taking away our way of life as we have known it since time began.

“There is a term which is being bandied about at present. ‘Micro aggressions’. I Googled this and this is what the definition comes up as:

“‘Micro aggression is a term used for commonplace daily verbal, behavioral or environmental slights, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes toward stigmatized or culturally marginalized groups.’

“I don’t agree with any hostility towards any marginal groups and if anyone is guilty of this they should stop. Nobody should be abused no matter what sex they are. It simply is not right. However, I am beginning to see that these so called micro aggressions are being used against larger groups i.e 99.9 per cent of the British population.

“Easter, Christmas, Man, Woman are terms that are known by all in this country and removing them or mis-using them is an aggression towards our way of life. This should stop.”

Fletcher has been vocal in his socially conservative views and criticisms of the transgender community since being elected in 2019.

Two days prior, he criticised the London School of Economics for changing the names of their semesters to align with seasons rather than Christian holidays.

He also spoke in Parliament last month to oppose the Scottish Gender Reform Bill which would have made it easier for transgender people to access gender recognition certificates.

He said that the rise in young people coming out as transgender is “tearing families apart”.

The women’s safety survey is now closed and results will be used to shape council policy.