Matt Hancock

Matthew John David Hancock (born 2 October 1978) is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 2018, and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from 2018 to 2021. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Suffolk from 2010 to 2024. He is a member of the Conservative Party, but now sits in the House of Commons as an independent, having had the whip suspended in November 2022 for his appearance in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (while parliament is sitting).

Matt Hancock

Quotes

2014

• Reform is about making sure where European money is spent it's spent properly.
  • Erasmus exchanges get down to business BBC News (30 April 2014)

• Scottish independence would be bad for the UK, and ultimately bad for Portsmouth because Britain plays a crucial role in the world, we're seeing that now with Russia.
  • Is Minister for Portsmouth a job for life? BBC News (25 July 2014)

2016

• There are real consequences of this [Brexit] for jobs and for livelihoods.
  • EU referendum: Row over '10 years of uncertainty' claim BBC News (29 February 2016)

• [The creative industries would be] absolutely central to [the UK's] post-Brexit future
  • Culture minister calls for more geographic diversity in the arts BBC News (9 September 2016)

2017

• The new Data Protection Bill will give us one of the most robust, yet dynamic, set of data laws in the world. It will give people more control over their data, require more consent for its use, and prepare Britain for Brexit.
  • UK data protection laws to be overhauled BBC News (7 August 2017)

• We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to live and be online, with our essential services and infrastructure prepared for the increasing risk of cyber-attack.
  • Firms face £17m fine if they fail to protect against hackers BBC News (8 August 2017)

2018

• We are working right across government to ensure that the health sector and the industry are prepared and that people's health will be safeguarded in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This includes the chain of medical supplies, vaccines, medical devices, clinical consumables, blood products. And I have asked the department to work up options for stockpiling by industry. We are working with industry for the potential need for stockpiling in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
  • NHS preparing to 'stockpile' drugs for no deal Brexit BBC News (24 July 2018)

• I don't know how likely 'no deal' is. It is what happens automatically unless Parliament passes something else. I very strongly feel that the best thing for the country, not just for the health service but for the country as a whole, is for Theresa May's deal to pass.
  • No-deal Brexit: Disruption at Dover 'could last six months' BBC News (7 December 2018)

• We want the secure flow of data to be unhindered in the future as we leave the EU. So a strong future data relationship between the UK and EU, based on aligned data protection rules, is in our mutual interest.
  • Brexit: UK seeks data transfer pact with EU BBC News (24 August 2017)

2019

• We are looking at legislating for the duty of care that social media companies in particular have towards the people on their sites - this is an important part of that duty of care alongside all the other things that social media companies need to do, like tackling material that promotes suicide and self-harm and, of course, terrorism.
  • Minister targets anti-vaccination websites BBC News (26 March 2019)

• We need to take responsibility for delivering on the referendum result.
  • General election risks 'killing Brexit', Matt Hancock warns BBC News (18 May 2019)

• [If Mr Corbyn became PM, the UK] could end up with the first anti-Semitic leader of a Western nation since the Second World War
  • Matt Hancock brands Jeremy Corbyn an anti-Semite BBC News (5 June 2019)

• We need to solve Brexit and we cannot do it by threatening no deal
  • Brexit: Tory leadership rivals split over Brexit deadline BBC News (11 June 2019)

2020

• It's quite unusual for a government to publish a plan with things in it we hope we won't have to do. [...] It's far too early to be able to tell in that instance. What we can say for sure is that, right now, we do not recommend the cancelling of mass events, and schools as well should not be closing unless there is both a positive case and the school has had the advice to close from Public Health England.
  • Speaking in BBC Breakfast about the cancellation of mass gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. As quoted in British army on standby over coronavirus spread, 3 March 2020, Al Jazeera English.

• So, right now, as long as you wash your hands more often, that is the number one thing you can do to keep you and the country safe. [...] The scientific advice is that the impact of shaking hands is negligible and what really matters is that you wash your hands more often.
  • Speaking in BBC Breakfast, as quoted in British army on standby over coronavirus spread, 3 March 2020, Al Jazeera English.

• [The vaccine's approval was] a huge British success story, [and] the single biggest stride that we've been able to take since this pandemic began.
• We've got 100 million doses on order - add that to the 30 million doses of Pfizer and that's enough for two doses for the entire population
  • told the House of Commons according to Covid-19: Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine approved for use in UK posted 30 December 2020

2022–2023

• And I will have Marilyn Monroe as my naked chef.
  • I’d invite a naked Marilyn Monroe to my dream dinner party, says Matt Hancock. The Telegraph (24 November 2022).
  • On the I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! reality TV show broadcast 24 November 2022 in a group discussion on who each would invite for dinner party guests with the requirement to nominate amongst the list at least one living person, one dead person, and one fictional person. In requesting a naked person Hancock was following the idea introduced by former professional footballer Jill Scott who had requested David Beckham as a naked chef.

• The Conservative party is finished if it succumbs to a Trumpian-style takeover. These Conservative Corbynistas are as destructive to the Tories as leftwing activists were to Labour.
  The liberal conservative majority needs to now stand up for the centre ground to ensure this rightwing takeover doesn't succeed. We moderates can't let these extreme voices and divisive arguments win the debate or claim the soul of the party. They're not only wrong and deeply unattractive but bad for political discourse and the country. If the party decides that' what it’s going to stand for, it will be a massive mistake.”
  • Comments after the National Conservatism conference (15–17 May 2023), as quoted in "Senior Tories say Trump-style takeover could precipitate party meltdown" The Observer (21 May 2023)