The Roman town of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, has long been preoccupied with its size. For years many of its 114,000 inhabitants insisted it should be classed as a city. This status was conferred by the King and Queen in November last year but while the community is growing in stature, it is not growing in space, worries Nick Fletcher, the MP for Don Valley.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” he told the House of Commons in Tuesday’s Rwanda debate: “Doncaster is full.” Homes are being turned into multi-occupancy housing, he said, while there are “ghettos” where people do not speak English; services are stretched to breaking point.
Does Fletcher, a landlord with ten properties, have a point? His message is familiar.
