"If I were mayor...": Tory MP in fresh hint of challenge against Ros Jones

Speculation has been growing in recent weeks that the Don Valley MP is gearing up to stand against Mayor Jones at the vote next May after stepping up his criticisms of her in recent weeks,

And a number of Facebook posts by the MP have hinted at a potential mayoral bid – which opened up after the Conservative candidate James Hart quit the party, leaving the Tories without a contender.

Now, in a post about the state of the city’s leisure centres and delays to their re-opening on Facebook, Mr Fletcher has given yet another hint that he could be planning a new career for after the General Election.

He wrote: “If I were mayor, delays like this would simply not be allowed to occur.”

“Do you feel like me that things are not going right in Doncaster?

“£18 million of your money has been invested by the council over the past four years. Yet all I see is #DelayDelayDelay. Why?

“In the meantime I shall continue to ask our Labour mayor “why?” until I get answers.”

The pair have clashed repeatedly in recent weeks, with Mr Fletcher and Mayor Jones locked in battle over a number of issues including shop closures and the state of the city centre and the re-opening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, with the mayor accusing Mr Fletcher of “lies and misinformation" on a number of topics.

Next month, the pair are due to speak at “What Next?” a Doncaster Chamber conference discussing the future of the city and mentioning the event in a cryptic post on Facebook, Mr Fletcher wrote: “What next? The future of Doncaster.

“This is the question that motivates me every day. What to do for my home town, now city, Doncaster?

“Very grateful to Doncaster Chamber for hosting this. Much to discuss and debate. Fortunately there are solutions and answers to the challenges and problems that Doncaster has.”

Mr Fletcher has previously stated that his focus for 2024 was for the Conservatives to win the General Election and to retain his seat. He also ruled out quitting the party and following his “good friend” Lee Anderson to Reform UK.

But following the defection of three Conservative MPs to Labour in recent months and a disastrous set of local election and regional mayoral results for the Tories, many of the party’s MPs are weighing up their options for after the General Election.

And it comes after the Conservative candidate for the Doncaster mayoral contest next May quit the party, leaving his bid in doubt.

Last month, James Hart, who was selected in 2022, announced that he had left the party, stating that he was “disappointed” by its leadership.

His departure opened up the position for party candidate in the upcoming mayoral election, which is set to take place on 1 May 2025.

Announcing his decision online, he wrote: “I have now cancelled my membership of the Conservative Party. I’m very disappointed by the leadership of the party and how our MPs have acted.

“I’ve supported every party leader since 2002 and I was dismayed that our MPs couldn’t support Liz Truss for more than 2 months.”

And in a thinly-veiled swipe at Mr Fletcher, who has been critical of the transgender community, Mr Hart said: “I think our leadership is now weak and has allowed fringe groups of MPs to dictate the direction we are heading, taking to the airwaves using GB News and focusing on non issues such as gender rather than what people actually vote on – the money in our pockets!”

Mr Hart first stood as the party’s candidate in the 2021 election, coming second to Mayor Ros Jones with 21,000 votes.

He had previously served as councillor for the Tickhill and Wadworth ward.