The head of Matt Hancock’s native Conservative social gathering requested the chief whip to not reinstate him as a Tory MP virtually per week earlier than the previous well being secretary introduced he wouldn’t run for his seat once more.
Mr Hancock confirmed his plans to face down on the subsequent election earlier immediately, having returned to Westminster from his stint on ITV actuality present I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here – a transfer that noticed him stripped of the social gathering whip.
In a letter to the prime minister, the MP stated he needed to “do things differently” after discovering “a whole new world of possibilities” and “new ways for me to communicate with people of all ages and from all backgrounds”.
He additionally wrote that he had spoken to the chief whip, Simon Hart, final week “in which he made clear he would restore the whip in due course – but that is not necessary”.
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But a letter revealed on the West Suffolk Conservative Association’s web site confirmed its president, Terry Wood, had written to Mr Hart himself, asking him to maintain Mr Hancock out of the social gathering,
“At an officers group meeting held on 30th November 2022 a vote was taken that ruled that the officer group have no confidence in Matt Hancock, our sitting MP, and we would request that the whip is not restored to him,” he wrote.
“This vote was brought about following feedback from the constituents in West Suffolk, advising that by virtue of recent events they consider Matt Hancock not fit to represent this constituency.”
A supply near Mr Hancock dismissed the letter as “irrelevant”, including: “It hasn’t been despatched on behalf of the affiliation, and the chief whip informed Matt he was going to get the whip again.
“Matt had already decided not to stand again when it came to light.”
But there have been different indicators of a tense relationship between the MP and his native social gathering after he introduced he was standing down, with Tory Councillor Lance Stanbury saying it was “inevitable” after he had been “heavily criticised” by members.
Another councillor, Ian Houlder, additionally described Mr Hancock of being “up the creek without a paddle”, including: “He was looking at his options quite rightly as anybody would and he’s gone for the money.”
The former well being secretary’s native information outlet, Suffolk News, had final week reported that Newmarket Town Council was to ship a letter to Mr Hancock asking him to resign following a vote.
It reported that earlier than the vote, unbiased Councillor Lisa Crissall, stated: “We, the constituents of West Suffolk feel extremely let down by our MP Matt Hancock in his decision to take part in this reality TV show.
“This determination would lead us to consider that that is the profession path he would favor to take, as a celeb as an alternative of fulfilling his function as Minister of Parliament for West Suffolk.
“We would ask that he resign his seat and allow someone who cares about their constituents to fill the role.”
Mr Hancock was stripped of the Conservative whip after it emerged he was becoming a member of the fact TV present, prompting hypothesis about his political future and whether or not he would stand once more on the subsequent common election which should happen earlier than January 2025.
The former well being secretary is at present sitting as an unbiased MP within the House of Commons.
Just a couple of days in the past Mr Hancock’s spokesperson informed the Telegraph newspaper: “He has no intention of standing down or stepping away from politics.”
The MP for West Suffolk has held his seat since 2010 and within the 2019 snap common election elevated his majority to 23,194.
He turns into the newest in a rising record of MPs who’ve introduced they won’t search re-election when the nation subsequent heads to the polls.
Read extra on Sky News:
How does the variety of MPs stepping down examine to earlier years?
Those who’ve introduced their intention to depart parliament within the subsequent few years vary from the longest standing feminine MP, Labour’s Harriet Harman, to a type of solely elected on the final election in 2019, Conservative MP Dehenna Davison.
Conservative MP Sajid Javid is one other former cupboard minister to have introduced his intention to step down.
Mr Javid, who was unsuccessful in his bid for Conservative Party management earlier this 12 months, stated in a press release: “It has been a decision I have wrestled with for some time.”
Source: information.sky.com”