Tara O’Neill

Matt Hancock, the former Health Secretary under Boris Johnson and current sitting MP for West Suffolk made a last-minute entry into the jungle for this year’s season of ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!’

Whilst Health Secretary - for the British Conservative government - Hancock oversaw and implemented many of the strict lockdown rules and guidelines that kept us trapped in our homes for months at a time, for, as he put it, ‘the greater good.’

Failing to provide adequate PPE for NHS staff in the early stages of the pandemic, sending untested COVID patients back to care homes, and not legally disclosing vast government spending of taxpayer money on COVID-related contracts were, for much of the general public, like a slap to the face.

However, the final straw for many came when leaked CCTV footage revealed that Hancock engaged in an extra-marital affair with his millionaire aide Gina Coladangelo, during the time when COVID was sweeping the nation, and millions were adhering to the rules he set.

By voting for Hancock to compete in ‘Bushtucker Trials’, the public is rewarding him and his PR team with excessive airtime that far from actually punishing him bestows a platform for his attempt to win back public approval. Moreover, his longing to be relatable comes across to many as nothing short of embarrassing. Using phrases like, ‘I messed up, then I fessed up,’ and singing a poor rendition of Ed Sheeran’s number-one song, ‘Perfect’, it’s unquestionable that Hancock is desperately attempting to salvage whatever ‘relatability’ he has left to resonate with younger voters.

Upon his arrival at the camp alongside comedian Seann Walsh, Hancock was met with mixed emotions from the other celebrities, some laughing, some nervous, and in the case of pop star Boy George, reduced to tears. The only one who seemingly spared him from a painfully public judgement was Channel 4 Hollyoaks star Owen Warner, purely on the basis that he didn’t know who Hancock was…

Grilled by some of his fellow campmates, Hancock sheepishly attempted to differentiate between the arbitrary distinction between lockdown ‘guidelines’ and ‘rules’ that he preached to the public. Claiming he only broke the less stringent ‘guidelines’. The former health Secretary admitted that whilst he made irrevocable mistakes, he found love so strong that he hired and paid Coladangelo with tax-payer money.

Whilst it must be acknowledged that he is, in fact, a human with feelings, current sitting politicians, particularly ones caught up in such an immense public scandal, have no place on a reality TV show playing to the masses. Not only is Matt Hancock neglecting his duties to his constituents while still receiving a sizeable backbencher wage, but he is receiving an estimated figure of £400,000 to appear on the show during a cost-of-living crisis that his government has ultimately inflicted.

Despite his claims that his appearance on the popular show was to raise awareness for Dyslexia charities, upon being asked by his fellow campmates his reasons for entering, and even pondering them aloud himself, there was no mention of the organisations for which he pledged to mention.

Only a week into the show, it is clear that Matt’s unwelcome presence in the camp has infected the atmosphere and left several campmates uncomfortable and unsure of whether or not he deserves their forgiveness.

Thus, Matt Hancock’s entrance into the jungle as an active politician begs the age-old question, should we forgive and forget? Whilst Matt has proven he will do almost anything to prove he’s actually a ‘good guy’, from eating animal genitals to crawling through a doll’s house filled with snakes and offal, it will prove challenging for many to see past the incompetence Hancock oversaw.

Ultimately, Hancock’s hypocrisy, arrogance, and failure in leadership will undoubtedly remain in the psyche of the electorate for quite some time.

Tara O’Neill is an International Relations and Politics student at Queen’s University Belfast and a Deputy Health & Lifestyle Editor for The Scoop.

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