Matt Hancock says he standing down as MP at next election, saying it could take Tory party decade to recover
Matt Hancock has announced that he is standing down at the next election.
In a letter to Rishi Sunak that he has posted on Twitter, Hancock said that he was recently told that he would have the whip restored (it was removed because he went on I’m a Celebrity without permission), which would have allowed him to stand again at the next election. But he said he was quitting anyway, because he had realised he did not need to be in parliament “to influene the public debate”.
He also implied the Conservative party was on a path to defeat, saying that it had to “reconnect with the public we serve” and that:
The revival of modern conservatism over the next decade will I suspect take place as much outside parliament as much as in it.
My letter to the Prime Minister 👇
I look forward to exploring new ways to communicate with people of all ages and from all backgrounds pic.twitter.com/PPvWB6McyM
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) December 7, 2022
Key events
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PMQs – snap verdict
When William Hague became Tory leader, for a while he regularly trounced Tony Blair at PMQs by making MPs laugh at him. Hague can deliver jokes brilliantly, and Blair did not know how to respond. Eventually he hit back by saying, as often as he could, that while Hague was good at jokes, he could not do serious politics. As Hague himself admitted in a recent interview for Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart’s podcast, The Rest is Politics, he was spooked by the criticism and toned down the jokes a bit. In retrospect, that is a mistake.
Keir Starmer, and the whole Labour machine, are trying to ensure that when the public see Rishi Sunak, they think “weak”. But Sunak, Blair-style, is trying to shame him off this line of attack. In his first response to Starmer he complained that the opposition leader was just “focused on the process and the politics”. In his second response, he said Starmer was “engaging in the petty personality politics, not focused on the substance”. It is a defensive ploy, and not altogether convincing (not least because Sunak himself accused Starmer of not being “strong” enough to stand up for workers affected by rail strikes), but it went some way to blunting the attacks he was receiving from the Labour leader.
Sunak also had a good retort to Starmer’s questions about the housing targets U-turn, and why the government was allowing councils to have the final say over housebuilding targets.
Just this week, on Monday, [Starmer] said the government should be giving people more power and control. Now he seems to be opposing that policy.
It is a fair criticism of the policy announced by Starmer with Gordon Brown on Monday. Governments can champion decentralistion, or they can champion housebuilding, but it is hard for them to too both.
In most of their PMQs encounters so far Starmer has won quite easily. Today it was more even, although he still had the upper hand. His mockery over the policy U-turns was effective. His jibe about the “blancmange prime minister” who “wobbled” was good (at least, for those of us old enough to remember the pink pudding monstrosity). And Starmer can do withering scorn as well as anyone now, as showed with this line.
Does [Sunak] really expect us to believe that the member for Chipping Barnet [Theresa Villiers] and the member for the Isle of Wight [Bob Seely] are cheering him on because he’s going to build more homes? Pull the other one.
Starmer also scored a direct hit with his Michelle Mone question. Although Sunak said in response that he was “absolutely shocked” by the revelations, it was a reponse that didn’t explain why she was allowed to retain the Tory whip. The question was more poweful than the answer – although Kevin Brennan’s version of the same question was even better. (See 12.32pm.)
At PMQs the PM normally saves his best soundbites for his final answer. But Starmer scuppered that today but devoting his final question to Strep A. In the past, when the opposition leader has wanted to raise a question on something sombre and cross-party, they’ve almost always done it at the start. Saving the grim topic of an illness that has led to the deaths of children to the end meant Sunak was obliged to ditch whatever party-political crowdpleasers he had in his file, and instead address the question.
It was a novel and surprise tactic, and it helped give Starmer the edge. But it was also the sort of move you deploy when you don’t want to take your opponent for granted.
Poll suggests support for independence in Scotland has reached 56%, with 44% opposed
Severin Carrell
Support for independence has jumped sharply after the UK supreme court ruled last month that Holyrood was unable to hold a fresh referendum without Westminster consent, according to a new poll from Ipsos.
Their poll for the broadcaster STV found support for independence was now 56%, up six points from its poll in May, versus 44% against. The Scottish National party said that showed the yes vote was “rocketing” after the court’s judgment, which has now barred Nicola Sturgeon from pursuing a legal referendum.
Ipsos said those figures were based on responses from those “very likely” to vote and also knew how they would vote. Other polling organisations use a different method, and do not normally produce results based only on likely voters.
Ipsos also found SNP support was at 51%, up by seven points since May, and the Scottish Greens at 3%. Other recent polls have shown a fall in support for the SNP, to as low as 41%. If the Ipsos results were matched at a general election, it could vindicate Nicola Sturgeon’s plans to use the next general election as a “de facto referendum”.
She says winning a majority of Scottish votes would mandate her to start negotiations on independence – a position Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak have rejected.
Emily Gray, the managing director of Ipsos in Scotland, said:
This is a high-risk strategy for the party, who secured 45% of the vote in 2019. However, the indication from this poll is that, at this stage at least, this is not harming their electoral chances.
At the same time, there are some indications that wider public ratings of the SNP have slipped. While the SNP remains comparatively more trusted than other parties, trust in their ability to manage a range of crucial issues – including the NHS and the economy – has fallen significantly over the last 18 months.
Sunak says hotels are “incredibly expensive” for housing asylum seekers. The government will urgently bring forward plans to reduce the pressure on them, he says.
Kevin Brennan (Lab) says we all applauded nurses during Covid. But at the same time “Tory spivs” were helping themselves to public money. Why is the PM on the side of the spivs not the nurses?
Sunak said the government needed to get PPE quickly. The shadow chancellor suggested we should get PPE from a law firm, and ventilators from a football agent. He says ministers did not take the decisions. Labour should stop playing politics with this, he says.
Dame Diana Johnson (Lab) asks why the government cannot process asylum claims within six months.
Sunak says the number of staff dealing with claims is being doubled. But one problem is that people make false claims. He says he is looking at what can be done to fix that, and hopes to have Labour’s support.
Jackie Doyle-Price (Con) says Thurrock supports building new homes. But it cannot build all the homes it wants because of limits imposed by the highways authority.
Sunak says, if Doyle-Price writes to him, he will look at this.
Conor Burns (Con) starts by thanking the speaker, and other MPs, for their support in recent week. (Burns was sacked by Liz Truss as a minister over a groping allegation, but a subsequent Tory inquiry said he had not done anything wrong.) He asks Sunak to visit a school in his constituency.
Sunak says it is good to see Burns back. He says he will consider the invitation.
Siobhan McDonagh (Lab) asks about the removal of cash machines from high streets. A quarter of ATMs charge people to withdraw their own money. He asks if the government will back her amendment to the financial services and markets bill today that will ensure people can still use free ATMs.
Sunak says the government is taking steps to ensure that people can access free ATMs. But he does not commit to backing McDonagh’s amendment.
Eleni Courea has written about the amendment in today’s London Playbook briefing. She says:
An amendment to the Financial Services and Markets Bill drafted by Labour’s Siobhain McDonagh with consumer group Which? has amassed Tory backbench support ahead of a vote today. Playbook counted 21 Tory MPs on the paper after three additions late last night, with names from all wings of the party and including Priti Patel, Danny Kruger, Anne Marie Morris, David Mundell and Iain Duncan Smith.
Call to arms: One Tory rebel told Playbook: “HSBC have just announced they’re closing branches … Banks are taking the piss in rural areas and we have no option but to sign this and push the government to act.” Rocio Concha, the director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said the amendment aimed “to ensure those who want to use cash aren’t cut further adrift.”
Crunching the numbers: 21 Tories — assuming no more join, and also assuming those who signed the amendment actually back it — isn’t enough to overturn the government’s working majority of 69 but would send a clear message if it came to a vote. In a letter sent to MPs on Monday and seen by Playbook, Treasury minister Andrew Griffith effectively restated the government position on the bill, saying he recognized “the considerable interest of colleagues in the matter of free access to cash in relation to the government’s legislation” but the government believed it was a matter for the FCA and that “access to cash remains extensive in the U.K.” It suggests ministers are holding firm… at least for now.
Gareth Davies (Con) asks Sunak to confirm that the Indo-Pacific remains a priority for UK foreign policy.
Sunak says he confirmed this in his recent speech at the lord mayor’s dinner.
This is from Labour’s Chris Bryant on what Rishi Sunak said about Lady Mone.
This is appalling weasel-speak. It’s not as if Sunak chucked her out of her party. Instead he and his ministers handed her millions for dodgy PPE without scrutiny. https://t.co/AzJPyB0zgu
— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) December 7, 2022
Stephen Farry (Alliance) says progress in the talks on the Northern Ireland protocol is very slow. He urges Sunak to speed it up, and to visit Northern Ireland.
Sunak says he wants to see the protocol issues resolved “as quickly as possible”. He thinks they can find a way through.
Stephen Flynn, the new SNP leader at Westminster, starts by paying tribute to his predecessor, Ian Blackford. He calls Blackford a giant of Scottish independence, and says he has seen off three Tory PMs.
Flynn asks what is the greatest achievement of the Tories: leaving the single market, ending free movement, denying democracy to Scotland, or getting Labour to agree with all of these?
Sunak says the answer is simple: protecting the public during the pandemic, with furlough and the vaccine programme.
Flynn says a poll has just come out showing support for Scottish independence at 56%. Will rising energy bills make that go up or down?
Sunak says the government is helping people with energy bills.
Starmer says Sunak clearly has not heard what Mark Harper told MPs about the strike legislation this morning.
He asks: what is being done to keep children safe this winter, in the light of the strep A outbreaks?
Sunak says his thoughts are with the families who have lost children. He says he has spoken to officials about this. He says it is important that parents know the symptoms. He says there is no shortage of antibiotics, and the strep A strain is no more virulent than usual.
Starmer says it may not seem like it, but Sunak is PM. He says he should resolve the rail strikes. And he says he was chancellor at the time all these PPE deals were struck.
Sunak says the government will legisate for minimum standards on strikes. Will Labour back it?
Sunak says he was ‘absolutely shocked’ to read Guardian revelations about Baroness Mone
Starmer says there was another U-turn on windfarms last night. He agrees with that.
He then asks how Baroness Mone ended up with £30m in her bank accounts.
Sunak says he was “absolutely shocked” to read that. Mone no longer attends the Lords. But there is a process to follow, he says.
“It’s absolutely right that she is no longer attending the House of Lords and therefore no longer has the Conservative whip. The one thing we know about the honourable gentlemen is that he is a lawyer – he should know there is a process in place. It is right that process concludes. I hope it is resolved promptly,” he says.
He then says Labour should stand up for working people and oppose the rail strikes.
Starmer says Labour would have helped the government win the vote for mandatory housing targets.
Sunak says he will not cooperate with Labour because of its record on housing.
Starmer asks if Sunak really thinks Theresa Villiers is cheering him on because he thinks he will build more homes. “Come one.” As usual, the blancmange PM backed down in the face of his own MPs.
Sunak says Starmer is engaging in “petty personality politics”. He says only on Monday Starmer promised more local control. He says even by Starmer’s standard this is a rapid flip-flop.
Keir Starmer says the Tories said they would build 300,000 houses per year. The PM broke that promise by scrapping mandatory targets. What changed?
Sunak says Starmer is focused on the process and the politics. But he has not read the detail of the policy. The government is protecting the greenbelt, investing in brownfield sites, and protecting neighbourhood plans.
