Matt Hancock has announced he will not be standing for the Conservatives at the next General Election - and experts saw this coming. The former health secretary and I'm A Celebrity… campmate knew his career in politics was over as soon as he controversially joined the ITV reality jungle Down Under, argues one British politics pro.
Mr Hancock was stripped of the Conservative whip at the time, which prompted speculation about his political future and whether he would stand again in around two years' time. In a letter to the Prime Minister on Wednesday, he told Rishi Sunak: "It has been an honour to serve in Parliament and represent the people of West Suffolk.
"I will play my part in the debate about the future of our country and engage with the public in new ways."
The Tory MP justified his entry to the competition by saying he would be shining a light on political issues and dyslexia in front of a mainstream audience and asked for forgiveness from his fellow campmates over his affair, which saw him break lockdown rules he had made.
After getting the boot, Mr Hancock spoke about his decision to take part in I'm A Celeb, saying: "I know that it was controversial me coming here, I know some people said people in your position shouldn't put themselves in embarrassing situations.
"But we're all human and we all put ourselves in it."
He added: "I just went in absolutely clear that I was going to be totally myself as if there cameras weren't on and that's what I did.
"And that is what I'm like in private!"
On his exit from the show, a British politics expert said that while Mr Hancock was clearly seeking redemption for his handling of the pandemic, there was no going back and argues he joined the show knowing full well that his political career was in tatters.
"Hancock clearly made a decision that he is at a particular point in his career where he is unlikely to fly any higher in the political realm. The shadow of Covid is always going to hang over him," Professor Matthew Flinders, director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre for understanding politics at the University of Sheffield, told the Mirror last month.
Prof Flinders, who says he would have put his mortgage on Matt Hancock being crowned king of the jungle, provided two suggestions behind his motive over the controversial choice to join the programme - but stated that neither was likely to happen: one being that he genuinely believed going into the jungle was a path to political redemption and the other that he thought he could become a celebrity politician and reinvent himself.
"If that's an option, he's probably quite badly misadvised or wrong," Prof Flinders continued.
"At the moment, the pain of Covid is still so raw in society. The fact he even went in has created such a backlash so it's hard to see the benefits outweighing the cost for him.
"What is closer to the truth is that he realises his political career is finished. This was maybe an opportunity for him to create a broader public profile that might sustain him in the media post-politics. I think in a sense that is what it is most likely to do.
"They say in politics and media that one thing worse than people talking about you is if they don't. Whether he comes out as the pantomime villain in all of this, he will at least be in the headlines and his public visibility will be high.
"In terms of political redemption, this is not going to be a prosperous strategy."
Instead of explaining his reasoning for joining the show with promises of raising awareness of issues important to him, Prof Flinders said he should have kept it simple.
"He'd have been far better saying 'I want a clean break' - people wouldn't have liked it but if he said I'm donating the money straight away and I do hope it gives the public some insight into what it's like to be in the hot seat at a time of crisis," the professor added.
Not all of his colleagues seem eager for Hancock to return either - as Business secretary Grant Shapps said he thought Hancock's career in parliament is "pretty much done".
Shapps told Times Radio: "I do think the right place for him to be is in Parliament looking after his constituents. It’s a very hard job to do if you’re completely out of touch.
"And I think he may therefore have come to the conclusion that his parliamentary career is pretty much done.”
Hancock gained over 22,000 Instagram followers since he joined the show, along with 60,000 fans on TikTok, as his team used the app popular with teens to keep him in the show.
"I think TikTok has been quite important to him. I think [users] see him as some sort of anomaly, something that is winding up the older generation, so why don’t we just play mischief?" Mark Borkowski, a PR guru, told The Guardian.
He added: "The people instructing him back in Blighty have done a very good job with TikTok. A lot of it is instructing the audience what to do, to use the app, how to vote for Matt. And that bit has been clever."
While on screen, Mr Hancock dropped mentions of his memoir - the Pandemic Diaries - where he claimed he explains the truth of what went on behind No 10 amid the pandemic - of which he was at the helm as the former health secretary.
Writing this book is further evidence of his wanting public approval, Prof Flinders said, adding: "There is a deeper level of seeking redemption, a way of people seeing the ‘real’ Hancock and can explain some of the pressures and mistakes to see the human side.
"To be authentic on a celebrity programme eating testicles, it's not easy. The risk is that although there are benefits to getting publicity, he might find it's actually like going into a trap."
He reckons it will have been a shock for Mr Hancock to return home to his numerous unsupportive constituents and to be confronted with their criticism, and believed he's in for a difficult ride remaining as a member of parliament after his stardom.
"I can't see them taking him back," he commented.
"He's gone from a Westminster bubble to another bubble. A common problem in those bubbles is you're isolated and out of touch.
"It [his decision] was a very strange and knee-jerk reaction to an opportunity that came up. But we are living in the most bizarre period ever in British politics so there are no common rules anymore."
Meanwhile, Dr Nigel Fletcher, a teaching fellow in politics and contemporary history at King's College London, agreed that it's never a good outcome for politicians to join reality TV.
He too thought the MP knew his career in politics was over and will now have a big decision on his hands.
Commenting before Mr Hancock’s eviction, he said: “It's quite ironic that Matt Hancock has become leader of the camp, but it would be even more extraordinary if he were crowned King of the Jungle.
"Previous politicians on the show have generally not done very well – Robert Kilroy-Silk finished last, whilst Nadine Dorries was second to last and Lembit Opik and Kezia Dugdale were both third from last. Edwina Currie is the most successful former politician so far, coming fourth in 2014, whilst Margaret Thatcher’s daughter Carol won the series in 2005.
"Assuming he doesn't win, it isn't really clear what Hancock will do next.
"The big question is whether he still hopes to return to high office in future, or whether his appearance shows he thinks his political career is already over.
"Given the heavy criticism of him for entering the jungle whilst serving as an MP, it would be risky for him to do more reality TV shows immediately, and he would perhaps be well advised to decide whether he now wants a career in politics or in entertainment."
Mr Hancock’s representatives have been approached for a comment.
