Matt Hancock could potentially move across Parliament to the House of Lords after being voted "not fit" to represent his constituents by local Conservatives last week. After confirming he will step down as a Member of Parliament at the next general election yesterday, the former Health Secretary said he was "excited to explore" a "whole new world of possibilities", with his spokesman refusing to rule him out becoming a peer The Mirror reports.
Hancock, who came third in this year's edition of ITV I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, confirmed on Wednesday he will not stand for his West Suffolk seat at the next election, with the former Cabinet minister's allies claiming he has "lots of irons in the fire", which include a possible career as a documentary maker and a return to the world of business. Were he to be elected to the Lords, the chamber's selection process would once again be questioned.
Throughout his five-week absence from the House of Commons, which saw the Conservative Party remove his whip, Hancock's team insisted he had no intention of quitting politics. However in a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this week he said he had decided he would not run again as a candidate at the next election as he wants to "do things differently".
He wrote: "I will play my part in the debate about the future of our country and engage with the public in new ways. 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.”
Moments following his announcement, it emerged his local Tory association officers had concluded they had "no confidence" in him. President of West Suffolk Conservatives Terry Wood, wrote to party chiefs to demand he would not be allowed to stand again, saying he was "not fit to represent this constituency."
While Lords peer are not paid a salary like the MPs, they can claim a flat rate allowance of £332 for each sitting day they attend. The former health secretary, who was forced to resign from his position after breaking Covid guidelines he made by engaging in an affair with advisor Gina Coladangelo, has made a large sum of money by cashing in on his notoriety.
Hancock is thought to have earned £400,000 for going into the jungle, has just published a tell-all memoir on his time in government, and will likely receive a cheque for an exclusive deal with a national newspaper.
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