Matt Hancock’s announcement that he is to step down as an MP has provoked an immediate row over whether the former health secretary is quitting voluntarily or has been forced out after appearing as a contestant on a reality TV show. The West Suffolk MP – who lost the Conservative whip after he agreed to fly to Australia to film ITV’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! – wrote to Rishi Sunak to say he wanted to seek “new ways for me to communicate” with the public. In the letter, Hancock said he had spoken to the Conservatives’ chief whip, Simon Hart, last week, and been told the whip would be restored in time, “but that is now not necessary” – meaning he will sit as an independent until the next election. Hancock presented the decision as voluntary and a chance to explore new career options. These are not expected to include any more reality TV after his stints on I’m a Celebrity and Channel 4’s Celebrity SAS, which has been filmed but not yet broadcast.
However, there were suggestions Hancock, whose spokesperson had said a week earlier would stay as an MP, was in effect being pushed out by a local constituency association that no longer supported him. During his I’m a Celebrity stint – in which Hancock was repeatedly chosen by viewers to undertake tasks including rummaging for meal tokens underground surrounded by snakes and spiders, and eat food including a cow’s anus and a camel’s penis – officers from the West Suffolk Conservative Association suggested he should step down. It then emerged on Wednesday that the association’s president, Terry Wood, had written to Hart saying he believed Hancock was “not fit” to represent the area. Ian Houlder, a Tory councillor for West Suffolk, said Hancock appeared to be “up the creek without a paddle” in terms of remaining the MP, and so had seemingly decided to go. Another councillor, Lance Stanbury, said it was “inevitable that Matt would probably not run after this election” given the local party criticism and the loss of the whip. But another Conservative on the council, Margaret Marks, said she believed any moves to remove Hancock had only come from association officers and did not necessarily enjoy wider support. “I’m not aware of members being canvassed, and I certainly haven’t been canvassed, so it appears to be just the officers,” she said. “I would describe overall opinion in the association as being much more mixed.” A political ally of Hancock described Wood’s letter to Hart as “irrelevant”. They said: “It hasn’t been sent on behalf of the association, and the chief whip told Matt he was going to get the whip back. Matt had already decided not to stand again when it came to light.” In his letter to Sunak, which he tweeted to make the announcement, Hancock warned that the Conservatives “must now reconnect with the public we serve”.
The letter set out what appeared to be something of a political epiphany undergone by Hancock while in the Australian jungle for the show, in which he defied expectations that viewers would quickly vote him out to finish third. “There was a time when I thought the only way to influence public debate was in parliament, but I have realised there’s far more to it than that,” he wrote. “I have increasingly come to believe that for a healthy democracy we must find new ways to reach people – especially those who are disengaged with politics. The revival of modern conservatism over the next decade will, I suspect, take place as much outside parliament as in it. “For my part I want to do things differently. I have discovered a whole new world of possibilities which I am excited to explore – new ways for me to communicate with people of all ages and from all backgrounds.” It had been an honour to serve as an MP, he said, adding: “I will play my part in the debate about the future of our country and engage with the country in new ways.” Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader, said Hancock should stand down immediately. “He’s clearly not interested in the job any more and would rather make money on reality TV shows than represent the people of West Suffolk,” she said. “His constituents deserve better than a part-time MP chasing fame and fortune.” Hancock, who was first elected as an MP in 2010, served as culture secretary before becoming health secretary under Theresa May, keeping the job with Boris Johnson and throughout the bulk of the Covid pandemic. He resigned in June last year after footage emerged of him kissing a friend and work colleague, Gina Coladangelo, in his ministerial office, a breach of his own Covid-19 rules. Since returning to the UK from Australia, Hancock’s diary of his period as health secretary during Covid has been serialised in the Daily Mail. In one extract, Hancock said the “vast majority” of Covid infections in care homes came from outside, including from care staff, prompting fury from care workers. Hancock joins a series of former ministers who have announced they will not stand again ahead of a December deadline imposed by the Tory party, including former chancellor Sajid Javid and ex-work and pensions secretary Chloe Smith.