From his local Tory party to senior NHS figures, pressure on Matt Hancock mounted until he was unable to carry on
When Matt Hancock drove to see Boris Johnson at Chequers to tell him he was resigning on Saturday, it wasn’t just an admission that he had run out of supporters after admitting his infamous clinch with an aide breached Covid guidelines. It was also a rare moment when the prime minister’s legendary ability to defy political gravity appeared to falter.
Even by Saturday afternoon, when Tory MPs had begun to make their feelings known, Hancock’s own local paper had condemned him and senior figures in the NHS had concluded Hancock had lost all credibility, Downing Street stuck to its initial conclusion that the matter of the health secretary’s conduct was closed. The tactic, after all, had a good record of success. Be it the home secretary Priti Patel over bullying claims, education secretary Gavin Williamson over botched exams, or communities secretary Robert Jenrick over a Tory donor’s property deal, Johnson resolutely ignored demands for sackings. The regular use of the tactic had led Whitehall insiders and some Tory MPs to wonder what levers were still in place to hold faltering ministers accountable.
