And Hancock steps into health role...
FORMER Culture Secretary Matt Hancock was appointed Health Secretary in last night’s forced reshuffle.
The prominent Remain campaigner will inherit a testing brief that has been expanded to include the poisoned chalice of social care. His predecessor Jeremy Hunt secured a significant victory in convincing Theresa May to announce £20 billion in extra funding for the NHS. But Mr Hancock, George Osborne’s former chief of staff, will also have to tackle the social care brief, a timebomb issue that likely cost Mrs May her Commons majority in the general election.
Last night he tweeted: ‘Really looking forward to joining @ DHSCgovuk at such an important time for our great NHS. I can’t wait to get started.
‘Loved the last two years @DCMS and thank you to all the brilliant digital dynamos, artists & missiondriven civil servants, who worked so hard to achieve so much #ThankYou’.
A former David Cameron loyalist who was elected to Parliament in 2010, Mr Hancock has had a steady rise through the ranks. He was appointed Culture Secretary in 2016 under Mrs May after proving his loyalty by serving in ministerial roles. The West Suffolk MP is one of the few Cameroons to survive the EU referendum.
During his time as Culture Secretary, he famously created the ‘Matt Hancock app’ to communicate with constituents and colleagues. The Oxford and Cambridge-educated former economist has three children with wife Martha.
Former Attorney General Jeremy Wright has replaced Mr Hancock as Culture Secretary.