The National Audit Office has revealed gargantuan losses on how the UK has managed cross-border travel and Quarantine Hotels during the Covid Pandemic in a recent report.
During Prime Minister's Questions, Nick Fletcher, the Conservative MP for Don Valley, commented that a new ministerial position should be established so that a person within government can take responsibility for looking out for men's health.Mr Fletcher would state that: "Men are dying so much younger than they should. So will the PM meet with me to discuss the merits of having a minister for men, and the benefits of a men's health strategy?"
The Prime Minister did not respond to the call for a minister for men, but would however state that: "We are determined to tackle all the health conditions he describes and cares about - particularly mental health and suicide prevention." This request comes decades after a minister for women was created by the former Labour prime minister Tony Blair, who established the office as a means of prioritising women's issues across government.
When Gordon Brown succeeded Mr Blair, he would establish the post of minister for women and equalities so that a wider range of issues might be tackled.Mr Fletcher has been a vocal advocate for male representation in the media and has previously criticised the idea of women taking traditionally male screen roles.When speaking in a debate on International Men's Day in Westminster Hall last November he would comment that: "
In recent year we have seen Doctor Whoo, Ghostbusters, Luke Skywalker, the Equalizer all replaced by women, and men are left with the Krays and Tommy Shelby.""Is there any wonder why we are seeing so many young men committing crime?"These programmes make crime look cool."Trust me, a lifetime in prison is not cool and neither is living with the memory of a stabbed son or daughter."
These comments came under heavy fire from members of the opposition and other critics leading him to release a statement on Twitter where he would state:"Naturally, as is often the case, my rather nuanced point that there are increasingly fewer positive male role models for young boys was almost immediately misconstrued. My point was, in fact, a straightforward one and in no way linked Dr Who being female to crime being committed by men."