Matt Hancock says he will not stand for Conservatives at next election

Read More

Matt Hancock has announced he will not stand again as a Conservative MP, saying he wants to instead seek “new ways to communicate with people of all ages and from all backgrounds”.

The West Suffolk MP and former health secretary, who had lost the Tory whip and faced considerable anger in his local party after appearing on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, wrote to Rishi Sunak to announce the decision, tweeting the letter.

Hancock said he had spoken to the chief whip, Simon Hart, last week, and he had “made clear he would restore the whip in due course, but that is now not necessary”.

The Conservatives “must now reconnect with the public we serve”, he wrote, saying this must mean finding new ways to do so.

While Hancock styled his departure as voluntary, a spokesperson for the MP had said last week he planned to stay on. A report on Wednesday said the head of his local constituency was about to denounce Hancock.

Terry Wood, the president of the West Suffolk Conservative Association, had written to Hart to say Hancock was “not fit” to represent them, with the letter due to be also published in a local newspaper, the i said.

Hancock’s letter set out something of a political epiphany he had undergone while in the Australian jungle for the ITV reality show, in which he defied expectations that viewers would quickly vote him out to finish third.

“The Conservative party must now reconnect with the public we serve,” he wrote. “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.

“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.

“I look forward to championing the issues that are dear to my heart, including better support for dyslexic children who get a raw deal from the education system.”

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.

Hancock has since branched out into reality television, having filmed Channel 4’s Celebrity SAS series before signing up for I’m a Celebrity, saying he wanted to reach a wider audience to raise awareness of dyslexia provision.

Since returning to the UK, 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.