LUKE MARSDEN: Hancock is in for a rough ride in the jungle

The former Health Secretary is now in the jungle and about to embark on weeks’ worth of kangaroo testicle-eating and small talk, so probably similar to Westminster then.

There has been a lot of debate about whether or not he should be doing it while still a sitting MP and taking an MP’s salary. The short answer, no he should not. I get he has a divorce to pay for and a book to promote and the rumoured £400k fee would certainly take the edge off that. But this is a stark neglect of his duties and constituency.

Things are tough enough and perhaps the good people of West Suffolk will take great comfort in voting to watch their MP do nightly bushtucker trials, but they’d probably rather have him listen to their problems and solve their cases.

When a doctor or nurse is off duty but still sees a medical problem they are duty and likely morally-bound to intervene, an MP should be no different. In fact if you seek and win high elected office you should think of little else.

Many will be surprised at my stance on this but, shock horror, not all Conservative Party members act as one blob, we don’t all think and feel the same way (despite how the media can portray us) and I know that many are furious with Hancock for doing this.

The argument for it is that he had a tough time and worked very hard during the pandemic. Breaking news for you Matt: most people did!

Making a conscious choice to abandon his duties and constituency is neglect and he should’ve resigned if he wanted to pursue a Lembit Opik-style media career .

Trust in politics and politicians is at an all time low, people want to believe the person they elect will do what they have promised. I highly doubt on Matt Hancock’s latest election leaflet he promised to eat a kangaroo’s anatomy.

One thing is for sure: he will get more votes then he could ever dream of and they’ll hurt.