Matthew Hancock was first elected as the Conservative MP for West Suffolk in 2010 at the age of just 32. He was reelected in 2019 with a majority of 23,194.
The constituency of West Suffolk is a largely rural seat that includes the industrial town of Haverhill, Mildenhall with its RAF base, and Newmarket, known for being the epicentre of the British horse racing industry. The local economy is influenced by a mixture of agriculture and industry, including a presence for food processing, pharmaceutical and chemicals. Although Labour came close to winning here in 1997, this is generally considered a safe Conservative seat. This seat contains a relatively higher proportion of retired people than the national average.
Hancock is well know to the public having served as Secretary of State for Health fronting the government’s briefings and interviews during the 2020/21 Coronavirus pandemic. He resigned in June 2021, following CCTV video footage that showed him breaking social distancing rules with a female aide.
Hancock became Health Secretary in 2018, having previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. During the Cameron and May administrations, he was previously Minister of State at the Department of Culture, the Paymaster General, and Minister of State for Energy.
In autumn 2022, Mr Hancock embarked on a celebrity TV career, undertaking filming for Celebrity SAS, and I am a Celebrity get me out of here. Mr Hancock came third in the jungle, but lost the Conservative whip for taking time away from Westinster to appear on the show. He has since detailed his intention to step down from Westminster at the next election.
Since leaving the government, Hancock has campaigned on dyslexia, revealing that he had kept his own diagnosis of dyslexia quiet for some twenty years.
Born in 1978, Hancock was brought up in rural Cheshire, attended Farndon County Primary School and King’s School Chester. He holds a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford and a Masters in Economics from Oxford University. .
Before being elected to Parliament, Hancock first worked for Border Business Systems, his family’s computer software company in Cheshire. He then worked for the Bank of England as an economist from 2000 to 2005.
Moving into Politics, Hancock then worked as Chief of Staff to George Osborne during his period as Shadow Chancellor between 2005 and 2010.
He supported Remain in the 2016 EU referendum, and is generally considered to be positioned on the centre left of the Conservative Party.
Hancock initially stood in the Conservative Party leadership election in 2019, but later withdrew from the contest himself and backed Boris Johnson.
Hancock likes cricket and has played for Lords & Commons Cricket team. Hancock claims to have taken part in the most northerly ever game of cricket on record, up near the north pole. In the summer of 2022 he was raising money as part of a charity climb he was undertaking to the summit of Mont Blanc.
He also enjoys horse riding and having trained as a jockey during the 2012 Parliamentary recess, later won a celebrity horse race at Newmarket.
Hancock has been a supporter of the Newcastle United football team since his childhood.
Hancock has three children. At the time he resigned from the govnerment in 2021, he announced he was separating from his wife.
Email: matthew@matthewhancock.co.uk
Personal Website: www.matthewhancock.co.uk
Twitter: @matthancockmp
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/matthancockmp
