Matthew Hancock

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This article is about the UK politician. For the character from the soap opera "Neighbours", see Matt Hancock.
The Right Honourable
Matthew Hancock
MP
Matthew Hancock.jpg
Paymaster General
Minister for the Cabinet Office
Assumed office
11 May 2015
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Francis Maude
Minister of State for Business and Enterprise
In office
15 July 2014 – 11 May 2015
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Michael Fallon
Succeeded by Anna Soubry (Small Business)
Minister of State for Energy
In office
15 July 2014 – 11 May 2015
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Michael Fallon
Succeeded by Andrea Leadsom
Minister of State for Portsmouth
In office
15 July 2014 – 11 May 2015
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Michael Fallon
Succeeded by Mark Francois
Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise
In office
8 September 2013 – 15 July 2014
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by John Hayes
Succeeded by Nick Boles
Member of Parliament
for West Suffolk
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Richard Spring
Majority 13,050 (27.1%)
Personal details
Born (1978-10-02) 2 October 1978 (age 45)
Chester, England
Political party Conservative
Alma mater Exeter College, Oxford
Christ's College, Cambridge

Matthew John David Hancock (born 2 October 1978) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for West Suffolk since 2010.

Hancock is currently Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, also attending Cabinet meetings. He had previously served as jointly Minister of State for Business and Enterprise and Minister of State for Energy in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government.

Early life

Exeter College, Oxford

Hancock was educated at Farndon County Primary School, in Farndon, Cheshire, The King's School, an independent school in Chester in Cheshire, and West Cheshire College (a further education college).[1] He gained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Exeter College, University of Oxford, and a MPhil in Economics from Christ's College, Cambridge.[1] Hancock has been a member of the Conservative Party since 1999.[2]

Career

After university, Hancock briefly worked for his family’s computer software company,[3] before moving to London to work as an economist at the Bank of England, specialising in the housing market.[4] In 2005 he became an economic adviser to the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, later becoming Osborne's chief of staff.[1]

He stepped down from his role with the party in February 2010 after being selected for the final six potential candidates for the West Suffolk constituency in the 2010 general election. Hancock narrowly won the selection contest, which took place in Mildenhall, after four rounds of voting, beating Natalie Elphicke by 88 votes to 81 votes in the final round of voting.[5]

Parliament

Hancock won the West Suffolk seat with 24,312 votes, 13,050 votes ahead of Liberal Democrat candidate, Belinda Brooks-Gordon.[6] In June, Hancock was elected to the Public Accounts Committee, the select committee responsible for overseeing government expenditures to ensure they are effective and honest.[7]

The frequency of his appearances in the House and contributions to debates are well above average and he has voted for tuition fees, encouraging occupational pensions and raising VAT.[8] On 26 November 2011 he was on the panel for BBC Radio 4's Any Questions.[9]

In January 2013, he was accused of dishonesty by Daybreak presenter Matt Barbet after claiming he had been excluded from a discussion about apprentices after turning up "just 30 seconds late."[10] Barbet said Hancock knew he was "much more than a minute late" and he should have arrived half an hour before to prepare for the interview. His opponent expressed surprise that "a minister whose Government berates ‘shirkers’ couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed to defend his own policy."[10]

In October 2013, he was promoted to Minister of State for Skills & Enterprise in a government reshuffle.

In the July 2014 cabinet reshuffle, he was promoted again, this time to Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Minister of State for Energy, and Minister of State for Portsmouth. On 27 July he announced protection for National Parks[11] -seen as a method of reducing anger in Conservative constituencies ahead of the election.[12] Interviewed on the Today programme, he rejected the suggestion that fracking was highly unpopular but when challenged was unable to name a single village which supported it.[12]

He has attracted controversy in his role as Minister of State for Energy for hiring a private jet to fly back from a climate conference[13] and accepting money[14] from climate change denial organization Global Warming Policy Foundation. In October 2014, he apologized after retweeting a poem suggesting that the Labour Party was "full of queers," describing his actions as a "total accident".[15]

Hancock has been Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General since 11 May 2015.[16] He heads David Cameron’s "earn or learn" taskforce which aims to have every young person earning or learning from April 2017. He announced that jobless 18- to 21-year-olds would be required to do work experience as well as looking for jobs or face losing their benefits.[17]

Personal life

Hancock lives in the constituency in Little Thurlow with his wife, daughter, and two sons.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ [1][dead link]
  3. ↑ [2][dead link]
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (subscription required)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for West Suffolk
2010–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise
2013–2014		 Succeeded by
Nick Boles
Preceded by Minister of State for Business and Enterprise
2014–2015		 Succeeded by
Anna Soubry
as Minister of State for Small Business
Minister of State for Energy
2014–2015		 Succeeded by
Andrea Leadsom
Minister of State for Portsmouth
2014–2015		 Succeeded by
Mark Francois
Preceded by Minister for the Cabinet Office
2015-present		 Incumbent
Paymaster General
2015-present
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