Matt Hancock could be blocked from standing at the next general election amid a row over his appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The West Suffolk MP and former health secretary lost the Conservative whip after flying out to Australia to appear on the ITV show.
Tory MPs need to decide by Dec 5 whether to stand again at the next general election, according to the Conservative Party rulebook.
Mr Hancock might not have been given the party whip back by then after senior party figures were left unimpressed by his newfound reality television fame.
The time pressure came ahead of changes to the UK’s electoral boundaries which are expected to be in place by the next election, likely due in 2024.
Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, took almost six months to regain the whip after her suspension for appearing on the same show, Conservative Party sources told The Times.
Even if Mr Hancock were to regain the whip, he could face deselection by his local Conservative association, which would force him to stand as an independent candidate.
The West Suffolk Conservative Association described him joining I’m A Celebrity as a “serious error of judgment when he is a paid, elected MP”.
Earlier this week, Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary standards commissioner, suggested that Mr Hancock’s appearance on I’m A Celebrity might have brought the Commons into “disrepute”.
She also revealed it had prompted “dozens” of complaints to her office from the public, even though it was not something that she has the power to investigate.
Mr Hancock is also expected to appear on a celebrity version of SAS: Who Dares Wins, the Channel 4 reality show, when it airs next year.
A spokesman for Mr Hancock said he had been allowed to keep in contact with his constituency for urgent matters while in the jungle.
He’s done being a mp. I expect him to do the rounds on all programs now
The fact he hasn’t been dismissed and charged with treason is baffling.
Imo it should be a crime to embarrass the country to this extent. So should grand failure of duty in public office.
And ban government employees and mp’s from having second jobs.
If that was the case you’d have way more discipline in the government
Next up… Britain’s Got Antique Bake Off on Ice Factor, with disgraced former Health Secretary Matt Wankcock.
I like how appearing on a TV show is something that can get you kicked out of the Tories, not lying, cheating or breaking rules.
Not embezzlement fraud and taking bribes. Not being directly responsible for thousands of deaths a year due to back to work catastrophic cock up.
I’m a celebrity…
[deleted]
Should instantly trigger dismissal and election.
I’m perplexed why his constituents haven’t made recall petition yet
I’m sure hell be fine. His rehabilitation is moving along and will be complete by the next election.
He should be frozen out of politics completely.
By which I mean encased in a block of ice and booted into the North Sea.
He earned £400k for “I’m a celebrity”, about 4 years wages as an MP in a few weeks work.
Why would he want to be an MP any more?
[deleted]
Its amazing how collecting a few stars in a task each night can make the public forget what this arsehole did and actually make them back him.
I figured he wasn’t going to stand for reelection by choice, whatever happens.
He should’ve done something like a DUI or leaking state secrets.
This will be a very interesting test case about the state of the UK electorate. If his constituents vote him back next election then we have it confirmed that the electorate only care about popularity and actions are meaningless.
Suspect he will leave politics after this – and retire off reality TV fees (SAS) and book royalties
We’re having another election? I thought we just let parties do whatever the fuck they want.
Funny that he is actually more popular since going on the show, some people I’ve spoken to at work say they hate to say it but they like seeing him on the show.
I’m sure he couldn’t be any less bothered. As long as his friends made money from his decisions, he will be taken care of. As every other politician, thats what they’re in power for. And we’re gonna celebrate that he’s not an MP anymore, while he will be sitting as as a board member of some corpo making 100s of thousands if not millions £.
Listening to BBC radio 2 yesterday afternoon Sarah Cox was on. Bloke rings up and requests dont stop me now by queen. Sarah asks is there a reason he has requested it. He says because matt hancock is a cunt. Live
He said it himself that he will not run for MP again. So he is just trying to find a new job or income source, may be trying to be a commentator or work in the media or something. So the more people hate him is a good thing for him, he would like people to remember him rather than forget about him completely.
Few years later when he is having his own show earning top money, he will be all smiling and humbling to listen to regular peasants calling into his programme to call him names and rants.
22 comments
[Archive Link](https://archive.ph/p4YMw). Article text follows.
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By Dominic Penna, Political Reporter
Matt Hancock could be blocked from standing at the next general election amid a row over his appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The West Suffolk MP and former health secretary lost the Conservative whip after flying out to Australia to appear on the ITV show.
Tory MPs need to decide by Dec 5 whether to stand again at the next general election, according to the Conservative Party rulebook.
Mr Hancock might not have been given the party whip back by then after senior party figures were left unimpressed by his newfound reality television fame.
The time pressure came ahead of changes to the UK’s electoral boundaries which are expected to be in place by the next election, likely due in 2024.
Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, took almost six months to regain the whip after her suspension for appearing on the same show, Conservative Party sources told The Times.
Even if Mr Hancock were to regain the whip, he could face deselection by his local Conservative association, which would force him to stand as an independent candidate.
The West Suffolk Conservative Association described him joining I’m A Celebrity as a “serious error of judgment when he is a paid, elected MP”.
Earlier this week, Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary standards commissioner, suggested that Mr Hancock’s appearance on I’m A Celebrity might have brought the Commons into “disrepute”.
She also revealed it had prompted “dozens” of complaints to her office from the public, even though it was not something that she has the power to investigate.
Mr Hancock is also expected to appear on a celebrity version of SAS: Who Dares Wins, the Channel 4 reality show, when it airs next year.
A spokesman for Mr Hancock said he had been allowed to keep in contact with his constituency for urgent matters while in the jungle.
He’s done being a mp. I expect him to do the rounds on all programs now
The fact he hasn’t been dismissed and charged with treason is baffling.
Imo it should be a crime to embarrass the country to this extent. So should grand failure of duty in public office.
And ban government employees and mp’s from having second jobs.
If that was the case you’d have way more discipline in the government
Next up… Britain’s Got Antique Bake Off on Ice Factor, with disgraced former Health Secretary Matt Wankcock.
I like how appearing on a TV show is something that can get you kicked out of the Tories, not lying, cheating or breaking rules.
Not embezzlement fraud and taking bribes. Not being directly responsible for thousands of deaths a year due to back to work catastrophic cock up.
I’m a celebrity…
[deleted]
Should instantly trigger dismissal and election.
I’m perplexed why his constituents haven’t made recall petition yet
I’m sure hell be fine. His rehabilitation is moving along and will be complete by the next election.
He should be frozen out of politics completely.
By which I mean encased in a block of ice and booted into the North Sea.
He earned £400k for “I’m a celebrity”, about 4 years wages as an MP in a few weeks work.
Why would he want to be an MP any more?
[deleted]
Its amazing how collecting a few stars in a task each night can make the public forget what this arsehole did and actually make them back him.
I figured he wasn’t going to stand for reelection by choice, whatever happens.
He should’ve done something like a DUI or leaking state secrets.
This will be a very interesting test case about the state of the UK electorate. If his constituents vote him back next election then we have it confirmed that the electorate only care about popularity and actions are meaningless.
Suspect he will leave politics after this – and retire off reality TV fees (SAS) and book royalties
We’re having another election? I thought we just let parties do whatever the fuck they want.
Funny that he is actually more popular since going on the show, some people I’ve spoken to at work say they hate to say it but they like seeing him on the show.
I’m sure he couldn’t be any less bothered. As long as his friends made money from his decisions, he will be taken care of. As every other politician, thats what they’re in power for. And we’re gonna celebrate that he’s not an MP anymore, while he will be sitting as as a board member of some corpo making 100s of thousands if not millions £.
Listening to BBC radio 2 yesterday afternoon Sarah Cox was on. Bloke rings up and requests dont stop me now by queen. Sarah asks is there a reason he has requested it. He says because matt hancock is a cunt. Live
He said it himself that he will not run for MP again. So he is just trying to find a new job or income source, may be trying to be a commentator or work in the media or something. So the more people hate him is a good thing for him, he would like people to remember him rather than forget about him completely.
Few years later when he is having his own show earning top money, he will be all smiling and humbling to listen to regular peasants calling into his programme to call him names and rants.