Blackpool South Conservative Scott Benton MP under fire for calling fire chief a 'jobsworth' after he banned the word 'fireman'

The outspoken MP referenced an article where the Greater Manchester fire chief, Dave Russel, said he would no longer tolerate the ‘sexist’ and ‘exclusionary’ word being used by his staff.

On 26 Feb, Scott Benton MP wrote on Twitter: “Now they’re banning the word ‘fireman’. Do these jobsworths realise how ridiculous they look?”

He also branded Mr Russel’s move ‘more nonsense’ following an earlier ‘ridiculous’ campaign to cancel children’s TV character Fireman Sam.

What was the response to MP’s tweet?

Mr Benton’s tweet was met with over 1,469 comments, including female firefighters and fire chiefs, many pointing out that ‘fireman’ hasn’t been in official use for decades.

Women make up just over eight per cent of firefighters in 2023, an increase from just 5.2 per cent in 2017.

CFO Justin Johnston QFSM, the Chief Fire Officer for Lancashire, tweeted: “Good morning Scott. As Lancashire’s Chief I’d be happy to come and explain the context and broader cultural picture. Also CFO Dave Russel, formally of LFRS is a highly respected professional colleague with over 30 years of dedicated public service, not a jobsworth.”

How did fire chief Dave Russel ban the word firemen?

Chief Fire Officer for the GMFRS, Dave Russel, sent an email to staff asking staff to stop using the term.

Mr Russel wrote: ‘Here it regularly slips into people’s everyday vocabulary, and it very often goes unnoticed and unchallenged because it’s just become “the way things are around here”.

But its connotation is sexist, exclusionary and represents a form of micro-aggression that is damaging to our culture.

‘This needs to stop and the term permanently erased from our vocabulary.’

Andy Morgan, a former member of Greater Manchester Fire Authority, told the Mail: "It’s ridiculous. It’s wokeism gone mad."

Sir John Hayes, of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs, said he would flag the incident to fire minister Chris Philp as the fire service should be focusing on "protecting the public" rather than "nonsense".

Mr Russel has invited Mr Benton for a meeting to discuss the tweet.

Scott Benton MP has been approached for comment.