The UK's Health Secretary Scandal

Matt Hancock was the UK’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (commonly referred to as the Health Secretary) from 9th July 2018 until his resignation on the 26th June 2021. He held the position throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and was responsible for much of the UK’s strategy to minimise the risks of the virus. His resignation came after the exposure of his breach of Covid-19 regulations as a result of his affair with Gina Coladangelo, his departmental aide.

Why did Matt Hancock resign?

Images showing the affair between Hancock and Coladangelo were published on the front page of The Sun newspaper on the 25th June 2021. The images were taken during the Covid-19 pandemic and showed that both Hancock and Coladangelo had broken the Covid-19 social distancing rules and regulations established by their own governmental department.

The public learned about their affair and breaches to regulations for the first time through the front page of this newspaper. The news quickly gathered a lot of attention from both the media and the public, with many people demanding Hancock’s resignation.

In his resignation letter, Hancock wrote that he owed it ‘to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down’. Many people criticised the actions of the Health Secretary as being hypocritical, because they felt he acted out of self interest when so many others had to make personal sacrifices during the Covid-19 pandemic. This was what ultimately led to Hancock’s position as the Health Secretary being untenable and the reason behind his resignation.

Furthermore, it was revealed that Gina Coladangelo has been a close friend of Matt Hancock since they attended university together. She was awarded the position of non-executive director in the Department of Health and Social Care, paid with £15,000 of tax-payer money. Many have criticised the move, questioning the qualifications of Coladangelo to hold such a position. This highlights a deeper issue within the Conservative party, the problematic practice of nominating and appointing friends or associates to positions of power within government departments.

Source: BCC

Responses from the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition Party:

The initial response from the UK's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was in support of Hancock. Johnson stated that he ‘considers the matter closed,’ after Hancock’s apology for breaking the social distancing rules that were in place at the time. Later, when speaking in the House of Commons, Johnson described the incident as ‘stuff going on within the Westminster bubble.’ The ‘Westminster bubble’ is a term used to describe the internal politics operating within Westminster between individuals, which is of little to no interest to those outside the bubble, i.e. most of the general public. This was clearly a poor choice of words and he seemed to have misread the mood of the public, since many citizens were angered by the affair.

Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, has criticised Johnson’s response to the incident and Hancock’s resignation. He described the Prime Minister’s response as another example of ‘one rule for them and another for everybody else,’ which has been a common public grievance against the government throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. This incident also drew attention to the fact that despite the ways in which the Conservative government has put the Covid-19 restrictions in place, there have been several high-profile cases of these restrictions being breached by government officials themselves (e.g. Dominic Cummings, previously an advisor to the Prime Minister).

Alongside the issue of the affair, there have been other accusations of corruption made against the government and the Department of Health in the past few weeks. Another issue that had come up in the past was the revelation that several government officials had been conducting official government business via private emails.

Who is the new Health Secretary?

The position has now been filled by Sajid Javid, who was appointed the UK's new Health Secretary on 26th June 2021, the same day as Matt Hancock’s resignation. He has held Cabinet positions before and served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2019-2020 and as the Home Secretary from 2018-2019. Javid's previous experiences of holding government positions will undoubtedly help with his new role.

On 4th July 2021, Javid stated, ‘We are going to have to learn to accept the existence of Covid 19 and find ways to cope with it - just as we already do with the flu.’ The approach of the new Health Secretary may differ from his predecessor, but this remains to be seen in the coming weeks and months.

Source: Healthcare IT News

What You Can Do:

Educate yourself and the people around you! Try to access information on politics and the government from a wide range of sources before you settle on your stance or perspective (see sources list below for suggestions). But always stick to sources that are verified and authentic so that you do not get sucked into a rabbit hole of news sensationalism.

While voting, study and research every candidate and their political affiliations to get a clear and complete picture of the person who you may be voting for! Make sure you understand every candidate's stance on important political and human rights issues in order to make the right choice.

Sources:

The Guardian (2021) ‘Matt Hancock resigns as health secretary after day of humiliation’ Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jun/26/matt-hancock-resigns-after-questions-over-relationship-with-aide

The Sun (2021) ‘Matt Hancock’s secret affair with aide Gina Coladangelo is exposed after office snogs while Covid raged on’ Available at: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15388014/matt-hancock-secret-affair-with-aide/

BBC (2021) ‘Matt Hancock quits as health secretary after breaking social distancing guidance’ Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57625508

The Independent (2021) ‘Who is Gina Coladangelo? The taxpayer-funded adviser Matt Hancock is accused of having an affair with’ Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/matt-hancock-affair-gina-coladangelo-b1872560.html?r=47122

The Telegraph (2021) ‘Boris Johnson ‘considers matter closed’ after Matt Hancock apologies for breaking social distancing rules’ Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/25/matt-hancock-refuses-comment-pictures-appearing-show-affair/

Sky News (2021) ‘Matt Hancock affair: Boris Johnson suggests controversy just a ‘Westminster bubble’ issue’ Available at: https://news.sky.com/story/matt-hancock-affair-boris-johnson-suggests-controversy-a-westminster-bubble-issue-12345593

The Guardian (2021) ‘Hancock affair: PM has ‘serious questions’ to answer, says Labour’ Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jun/27/pm-must-answer-huge-questions-over-hancock-affair-says-labour

The Guardian (2021) ‘Politics trumps Covid science in Javid’s push to ‘live with the virus’ Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/04/politics-trumps-covid-science-in-javids-push-to-live-with-the-virus