The Right Honourable Matt Hancock MP

[Phud]

Biker 1 said:

I guess we're back to Hancock's Half Hour...

I remember several months ago wkcock said he was holidaying in the West Country this year. Assuming his plans are still going ahead, it will be interesting to see what sort of reception he'll get from the locals. I almost feel sorry for him!

I'm guessing it will be Rock or Wadebridge, which means few locals and many of his own London set around him

[ATG]

FWIW (about 3p), I rather suspect that Bojo will call anyone a knob behind their back if he thinks it's what his immediate audience wants to hear. Further, I doubt he is in a position to judge whether or not they're doing a good job because he has no idea what the job really entails. And Cummings may have entirely unrealistic expectations of what anyone can actually achieve given the state of the department they're trying to lead.

[Flip Martian]

ATG said:

FWIW (about 3p), I rather suspect that Bojo will call anyone a knob behind their back if he thinks it's what his immediate audience wants to hear. Further, I doubt he is in a position to judge whether or not they're doing a good job because he has no idea what the job really entails. And Cummings may have entirely unrealistic expectations of what anyone can actually achieve given the state of the department they're trying to lead.

Probably a lot of truth in all of that.

But at the same time, they all do seem to be a bunch of lying hounds. If Hancock really can't be trusted to tell his own colleagues the truth in meetings, then that's a new low, surely. You'd think they at least stuck together and lied from the same page...

I have to wonder, given the bile Cummings has for MPs and, the civil service and anyone he didn't approve of, why on earth did he choose to work in amongst them? Sounds like the job from hell.

[Ian Geary]

I'm sure someone pointed out ages ago, keeping Hancock around provides a perfect fall guy when the inquiry /posterity comes knocking.

I've also got another quandary: it isn't Matt who was organising ppe, tests etc. It's the people under him.

It sounds like he was giving false assurances because that's what bojo / the cabinet/ the country wanted to hear.

If he'd had backbone and said: "no, we've not funded the care home sector or the health sector well enough to pull a rabbit out of the hat", I suspect his move to the back benches would have just happened earlier.

As it is, he's caught.

I also think Dominic doesn't come out of this looking good at all.

[Gareth79]

What was interesting was Cummings' messages were all very detailed and Boris' responses were along the lines of "ok brill am all ears !"

[Unknown_User]

Ian Geary said:

I'm sure someone pointed out ages ago, keeping Hancock around provides a perfect fall guy when the inquiry /posterity comes knocking.

I've also got another quandary: it isn't Matt who was organising ppe, tests etc. It's the people under him.

It sounds like he was giving false assurances because that's what bojo / the cabinet/ the country wanted to hear.

If he'd had backbone and said: "no, we've not funded the care home sector or the health sector well enough to pull a rabbit out of the hat", I suspect his move to the back benches would have just happened earlier.

As it is, he's caught.

I also think Dominic doesn't come out of this looking good at all.

You also have to consider the person that appointed both Cummings and Hancock is an utter buffoon and question his blooper prone decision making!

[youngsyr]

Ian Geary said:

I'm sure someone pointed out ages ago, keeping Hancock around provides a perfect fall guy when the inquiry /posterity comes knocking.

I've also got another quandary: it isn't Matt who was organising ppe, tests etc. It's the people under him.

It sounds like he was giving false assurances because that's what bojo / the cabinet/ the country wanted to hear.

If he'd had backbone and said: "no, we've not funded the care home sector or the health sector well enough to pull a rabbit out of the hat", I suspect his move to the back benches would have just happened earlier.

As it is, he's caught.

I also think Dominic doesn't come out of this looking good at all.

I suspect Cummings enjoys his arch-villain reputation and his reputation won't be damaged too much by this at all.

He's not interested in climbing the greasy pole of power in Westminster, he wants to tear it down.

That's very clear in his leaked WhatsApp messages to Bojo - he's not trying to replace people in certain roles, he's trying to change the entire decision making system.

He saw his oppoturnity to do that from the inside with Boris and Gove and when he'd taken that as far as possible / pissed off even his last few supporters on the inside, he walked/was pushed and is now trying to do it from the outside.

[anonymous-user]

https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/1405639771607...

NHS chief Simon Stevens doesn’t look like he’s a Hancock fan.

[biggbn]

youngsyr said:

I suspect Cummings enjoys his arch-villain reputation and his reputation won't be damaged too much by this at all.

He's not interested in climbing the greasy pole of power in Westminster, he wants to tear it down.

That's very clear in his leaked WhatsApp messages to Bojo - he's not trying to replace people in certain roles, he's trying to change the entire decision making system.

He saw his oppoturnity to do that from the inside with Boris and Gove and when he'd taken that as far as possible / pissed off even his last few supporters on the inside, he walked/was pushed and is now trying to do it from the outside.

Bang on!!

[bitchstewie]

Back in the news for all the wrong reasons.

'Hopeless' Matt Hancock 'didn't tell PM about study showing vaccines ARE effective against Indian Covid variant during meeting on delaying Freedom Day and sat on data for THREE DAYS'

[Blue62]

bhstewie said:

Back in the news for all the wrong reasons.

'Hopeless' Matt Hancock 'didn't tell PM about study showing vaccines ARE effective against Indian Covid variant during meeting on delaying Freedom Day and sat on data for THREE DAYS'

I’ve just been listening to a discussion on R4 about this, I have a feeling that it may have been deliberately leaked, possibly heralding the beginning of the end for this hapless tool. Some of my Tory chums have been moaning for months about the quality of the politicians at the top of the party, maybe the Amersham result has nailed the point home? Could we be witnessing the end of the Brexit half-wits Boris promoted beyond their pay grade?

[Boringvolvodriver]

Blue62 said:

I’ve just been listening to a discussion on R4 about this, I have a feeling that it may have been deliberately leaked, possibly heralding the beginning of the end for this hapless tool. Some of my Tory chums have been moaning for months about the quality of the politicians at the top of the party, maybe the Amersham result has nailed the point home? Could we be witnessing the end of the Brexit half-wits Boris promoted beyond their pay grade?

Apparently, sack the health secretary is trending on Twitter!

It wouldn’t surprise me at all that it has been leaked - I have said for a while that Hancock is being set up to be the fall guy for Johnson. Thing is that Hancock is so full of himself that he can’t see it!

[youngsyr]

Boringvolvodriver said:

Blue62 said:

I’ve just been listening to a discussion on R4 about this, I have a feeling that it may have been deliberately leaked, possibly heralding the beginning of the end for this hapless tool. Some of my Tory chums have been moaning for months about the quality of the politicians at the top of the party, maybe the Amersham result has nailed the point home? Could we be witnessing the end of the Brexit half-wits Boris promoted beyond their pay grade?

Apparently, sack the health secretary is trending on Twitter!

It wouldn’t surprise me at all that it has been leaked - I have said for a while that Hancock is being set up to be the fall guy for Johnson. Thing is that Hancock is so full of himself that he can’t see it!

Or perhaps he's the type of person who would rather be remembered for being the villain rather than not be remembered at all?

[dangerousB]

Matt Hancock says Boris Johnson calling him 'totally useless' is "not embarrassing"

Worth a click just for the comments - most of which I completely agree with. Especially the one mentioning that his eyes are dead - it was the first thing that struck me when I watched the clip.

[Boringvolvodriver]

dangerousB said:

Matt Hancock says Boris Johnson calling him 'totally useless' is "not embarrassing"

Worth a click just for the comments - most of which I completely agree with. Especially the one mentioning that his eyes are dead - it was the first thing that struck me when I watched the clip.

He is clearly lying but that is nothing new for Hancock. He really doesn’t have any shame - I would love to hear what a psychologist or psychiatrist would say about him. To my mind, he would appear to have some sort of issue which is not normal.

[dangerousB]

Boringvolvodriver said:

I would love to hear what a psychologist or psychiatrist would say about him. To my mind, he would appear to have some sort of issue which is not normal.

Genuinely, so would I. From my perspective as a non-psychologist/psychiatrist, he certainly projects a creepy/weird aura. Definitely "not right".

[Murph7355]

dangerousB said:

Boringvolvodriver said:

I would love to hear what a psychologist or psychiatrist would say about him. To my mind, he would appear to have some sort of issue which is not normal.

Genuinely, so would I. From my perspective as a non-psychologist/psychiatrist, he certainly projects a creepy/weird aura. Definitely "not right".

For some balance, I saw the interview broadcast.

I thought the question was childish and unfair in the context of what he was there to talk about and in the circumstances I thought his answer was as dignified as you could expect anyone to give in the circumstances. I thought there were some good digs at Cummings in it too.

I'm no massive fan of Hancock, but IMO that interview is nothing for him to be hung out for. The wet puppy Dan Walker should be the one embarrassed, especially by his "I was called useless once when I was 17" cringeworthy made up anecdote....I suspect he's been called useless far more often than that.

[Muddle238]

dangerousB said:

Boringvolvodriver said:

I would love to hear what a psychologist or psychiatrist would say about him. To my mind, he would appear to have some sort of issue which is not normal.

Genuinely, so would I. From my perspective as a non-psychologist/psychiatrist, he certainly projects a creepy/weird aura. Definitely "not right".

Definitely shouldn’t be in a position of power, especially in government. Very much look forward to the day he goes.

[Boringvolvodriver]

Muddle238 said:

dangerousB said:

Boringvolvodriver said:

I would love to hear what a psychologist or psychiatrist would say about him. To my mind, he would appear to have some sort of issue which is not normal.

Genuinely, so would I. From my perspective as a non-psychologist/psychiatrist, he certainly projects a creepy/weird aura. Definitely "not right".

Definitely shouldn’t be in a position of power, especially in government. Very much look forward to the day he goes.

The fake crying or was it real laughing was the one that really boiled my blood! That and the story about his relative - sorry non relative - that died of covid.

[Maximus Decimus Meridius]

Boringvolvodriver said:

I would love to hear what a psychologist or psychiatrist would say about him.

He's a tt. HTH.