Hunt, Jeremy

Overview

Jeremy Hunt was first elected as the Conservative MP for South West Surrey in May 2005.

He was dramatically appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by Liz Trust in October 2022.

Between 2018 and 2019, Jeremy Hunt served as Foreign Secretary under Theresa May, a position from which he launched a Conservative Leadership bid in 2019. After making it to the final round, Hunt faced a vote of Tory Party members who overwhelmingly chose Boris Johnson.

Mr Hunt put his name forward for the Conservative leadership in July 2022 but failed to secure enough support from MPs to make it through to the later stages of the contest.

From 2012-2018, Hunt was Secretary of State for Health, becoming the longest serving Health Secretary in history.

After supporting David Cameron’s bid for the Tory leadership, Hunt became an important player in Cameron’s modernising project. After holding junior shadow ministerial roles, in 2007 Hunt became Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. In the aftermath of the 2010 General Election, Hunt was appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Political Career

Upon entering parliament at the 2005 election, Hunt was quickly picked out by Cameron as an MP with potential. As Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Hunt was one of only three of the 2005 intake to sit in the Shadow Cabinet by 2007.

As Health Secretary (2012-2018), Hunt had a number of runs ins with the medical establishment. During his 2,099-day tenure, there was a series of junior doctor strikes over pay and contractual changes to working practices – the first such strikes for 40 years. During his time in office, he attempted to put greater emphasis on the issue of mental health.

In the July 2018 cabinet reshuffle, Hunt was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, a position he held until July 2019.

Hunt chose two signature causes during his short time at the Foreign Office: the defence of media freedom around the world and the protection of Christians from persecution. During his time at the Foreign Office, Hunt faced criticism for allowing the UK to sell arms to the Saudi Arabians given how the Saudi were involved in a particularly nasty military campaign in Yemen.

Following Theresa May’s resignation, Hunt was one of the 10 Conservative MPs who launched a leadership campaign. Hunt won the support of enough MPs (77 in total) to go through to the final vote of the Party members. Hunt promised his rival, Boris Johnson, ‘the fight of his life’, but Johnson proved far more popular among the Brexit-supporting Tory base. Hunt only managed to secure 33.6% of the Tory membership.

After snubbing Johnson’s offer of a demotion to Secretary of State for Defence, Hunt returned to the backbenches. He is now Chairman of the influential Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee, one whose importance heightened during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson

Hunt’s and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s political careers were entangled at many stages.

As Culture Secretary, Hunt worked closely with then London Mayor, Boris Johnson, in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics.

In 2018, Hunt took over as Foreign Secretary following Boris Johnson’s spell in the job.

With the pair having then been Conservative leadership rivals in 2019, Hunt became something of an alternative voice to Mr Johnson during the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020-21. As Chairman of the Parliamentary Health Select Committee, Hunt was not slow to put forward his own alternative opinions on how the pandemic should be, or should have been, managed.

In January 2022, following the partygate affair, Hunt commented that his own leadership ambitions had not completely vanished.  However Hunt was ultimately eliminated early in the 2022 Conservative leadership election, failing to secure the support of enough Conservative MPs.

Political Views

Hunt has long-been seen to lie on the more liberal wing of the Conservative party. He voted for ‘Remain’ at the 2016 referendum and voted for Theresa May’s deal during all three ‘meaningful votes’ in Parliament.

As a self-described ‘One-Nation’ Tory, Hunt has been associated with socially and economically liberal policies.

Background

How old is Jeremy Hunt?

Hunt was born in Kennington, South London, on the 1st of November 1966. Hunt’s sister tragically died when he was 2-years-old.

What did Jeremy Hunt do before politics?

After graduating from Oxford University, where he had been Chairman of the University Conservative Association, Hunt briefly became a management consultant. He then travelled to Japan where he taught English for two years. Returning to the UK, Hunt co-founded ‘Hotcourses’, a website designed to help students and parents choose the right college course. In 2017, Hunt reportedly earned some £15 million from the sale of Hotcourses.

Is Jeremy Hunt married?

Hunt married Lucia Guo in July 2009. The couple have a son and two daughters. Back in 2009, Hunt flew all the way to Xi’an in China, Lucia’s hometown, to formally ask Lucia’s father for her hand in marriage.  In June 2022, Jeremy Hunt detailed how he had recovered from a minor cancer, and that most members of his family had also at one point had cancer.

Things you might not know about Jeremy Hunt

His father was an Admiral and Commander of the Fleet

Admiral Sir Nicholas John Streynsham Hunt is Jeremy’s father. Sir Nicholas was Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet from 1985 to 1987. In this role he was responsible for the operations of all ships, submarines and aircraft in the Royal Navy. The post was abolished in 2012.

He loves ballroom dancing

In 2012, fellow Cabinet Minister, Michael Gove revealed that Hunt is an ‘amazing dancer’. A subsequent interview with Hunt’s dance teacher revealed: ‘Dance comes from the heart and that’s one thing Jeremy has – a big heart’.

He speaks Japanese

As a former English language teacher in Japan, Hunt speaks fluent Japanese.

Further Details

Twitter – @Jeremy_Hunt

Facebook Address – @jeremyhuntsws

Personal Website – https://www.jeremyhunt.org

Johnson vs Hunt: The most pointless contest imaginable