Matt Hancock's News About Quitting Parliament Unleashes Twitter's Top Sarcasm Mode

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Matt Hancock has just announced he will not be standing as an MP at the next general election, news which has inspired Twitter to no end today.

The former health secretary, who resigned after breaching his own Covid rules at the height of the pandemic and who had the Tory whip removed when he entered the I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! jungle, will quit parliament in 2024.

Currently an independent MP for West Suffolk, Hancock said he was “incredibly proud” of what was achieved during his nine years in government, but that he was looking to “engage with the public in new ways” now.

In case you missed the letter to prime minister Rishi Sunak that Hancock shared on Twitter, here’s the TikTok he posted first...

@matthancock
I have today announced I will not be standing at the next General Election I look forward to exploring new ways to communicate with people of all ages and from all backgrounds
♬ original sound - Matt Hancock

Hancock is one of 15 Conservative MPs who have so far confirmed they will not be standingin the next election as a Labour Party victory looms.

The news came after many of his former Tory colleagues suggested that Hancock’s parliamentary career was over after he decided to spend weeks in the Australian jungle for reality TV.

While he came third in the competition, there still seems to be little love lost between Twitter and the former cabinet minister judging by today’s posts.

Opposition MPs were among the first to jump in...

Good riddance Matt Hancock. A walking disaster of a Minister who flagrantly broke the covid rules he helped create for everyone else to follow 👋🏿
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) December 7, 2022

I find it utterly depressing that Matt Hancock thinks you can only communicate about politics by going on reality TV. How about you try to show the power of it by doing it and including people. If you can't communicate properly as an MP that's on you. https://t.co/hVUDMS2Dpe
— Jess Phillips MP (@jessphillips) December 7, 2022

As Matt Hancock looks forward to spending more time playing on his app, feeling his way round the jungle & reaping the profits of a Covid contract that he handed to his own brother-in-law, we're all looking forward to him leaving Parliament once and for all - good riddance https://t.co/RQkBxsIDVR
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) December 7, 2022

And some people thought it wasn’t surprising at all...

"Turkey says it will not be standing for nation's favourite pet this Christmas."https://t.co/dotmsLV1BS
— Kit Yates (@Kit_Yates_Maths) December 7, 2022

Others were just astonished at the way Hancock announced the news..

I thought he was showing a glimpse of decency by standing down but then I read the rest of his letter & that went right out of the window, he shows no remorse for his failings as Health Sec. proving he has no decency at all. Go & go now @MattHancock stop wasting our time & money! https://t.co/MgVZoz5Lm4
— Steve Tallamy - 🇺🇦 💚 #SaveOurNHS 💙 (@TanglewoodSteve) December 7, 2022

You’re “incredibly proud” of what you’ve achieved? You shameless, awful man.

If there was any justice, you and your colleagues would be prison.
— Shoaib M Khan (@ShoaibMKhan) December 7, 2022

Nobody of any age or background wants to communicate with you, except maybe to detail exactly what they think of you.
— Alex Ritman (@alexritman) December 7, 2022

Matt Hancock going out in full David Brent mode? You, and I cannot stress this enough, love to see it pic.twitter.com/JPgbqLQKZc
— Graeme Demianyk (@GraemeDemianyk) December 7, 2022

So he has thrown a protective ring around himself?
— Spike Milligoon (@Cookmeister7) December 7, 2022

One or two reminisced about the “highlights” of Hancock’s political career...

going to miss seeing weird photographs of Matt Hancock, this is one of my favourites pic.twitter.com/7uGzgzoCzd
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) December 7, 2022

I will no longer be tweeting, as I am excited to explore the world of opportunities that will allow me to communicate directly with people in a different way. pic.twitter.com/T0DEcDV6yz
— Brendan May (@bmay) December 7, 2022

And many speculated about where he was going to go next, with some TikTok accounts wondering if he might head to Love Island, Celebrity Big Brother or Strictly Come Dancing.

One tweet from writer Mollie Goodfellow was actually published several hours before Hancock confirmed he was stepping down, and speculated he might join the hit celebrity cast on the West End production 2:22 A Ghost Story.

When will Matt Hancock be announced as part of the cast for 2:22 A Ghost Story
— Mollie Goodfellow (@hansmollman) December 7, 2022

Matt Hancock announces plans to quit Parliament the day after Matt Lucas leaves a vacancy for a presenter on #gbbo...
— David Wilcock (@DavidTWilcock) December 7, 2022

I think this offers some very strong clues about where Matt Hancock sees his career going from hereonin 🤯 https://t.co/dXfsNvID6g
— Sonia Sodha (@soniasodha) December 7, 2022

Maybe @MattHancock has Ed Balls as a role model.
Maybe they could do a podcast together:
Hancock and Balls https://t.co/Md4zWY7x7A
— Jon Sopel (@jonsopel) December 7, 2022

... He added that politicians need to find "new ways to reach people" outside Parliament...

Strictly next, then? God help us.

BBC News - Matt Hancock to stand down at next electionhttps://t.co/6r96hOrPl5
— Jim Deeds (@gymforthesoul) December 7, 2022

And finally, when words were no longer enough, there were the memes.