Gender equality In his first notable media presence, as part of a debate in the UK Parliament's Westminster Hall, for
International Men's Day 2021, Fletcher claimed that male role models in film and television were being replaced by women (namely
Luke Skywalker,
The Equalizer,
Doctor Who, and The
Ghostbusters), linking that to the number of young men turning to crime. His apparent opposition to women playing these roles was criticised by fellow MPs (including
Luke Pollard), and also condemned by some social media users as sexist and misogynistic. In his defence, Fletcher states this part of his speech was dealing with the wider issue of positive role-models for young men and that the controversy results from looking only at a short section.
Transgender issues In June 2022, Fletcher sent letters to all schools in his constituency urging head teachers to "push back" against the "transgender lifestyle", arguing that allowing children to take hormone blockers is "affirming something that is nothing more than a phase". The letters were not well received by Doncaster Schools, with one school reporting that the letters were "neither helpful nor positively received".
Immigration In December 2023 Nick Fletcher was criticised for stating that A&E waiting lists in his constituency of Don Valley were excessively long due to high levels of immigration. He said of his constituency "We are turning parts of our community into a ghetto... you have a 12 hour waiting list at A&E, & the reason why the waiting list is so long, is because people don't speak English in these places anymore”. He was said by opposition members to have been echoing Enoch Powell's “Rivers of Blood Speech”. == Parliamentary career ==