‘Matt Hancock could be the next national treasure’

I know he’s currently firmly in the villain camp and it’s hard to see that changing, but the new version of Hancock’s half hour could be therapeutic and just what the nation needs as we all vote for him to do one unpleasant bushtucker trial after another, and could give birth to the unthinkable – a country feeling sympathy for Matt Hancock.Lockdown Matt, or Love Rat Matt (whatever your preference) may soon become more famous as Bushtucker Matt. Snakes, spiders, kangaroos penises – we all know there won’t be a trial too tasteless for him to do, and whatever the public and ITV ambush him with I can assure you Matt will simply smile and crack on with it, for he has skin as thick as a rhino and it will serve him well on the show.Mind you, his trademark Tiggerish enthusiasm, which he’ll deploy for every challenge, might just stop people voting for him to do them and may even earn him some grudging respect. It will be interesting to see how long Matt lasts in the jungle, and while he’ll be desperate to win, his reported £400,000 fee will make losing less painful for him.He’ll be able to produce tears too as he lounges in the jungle, sharing intimate moments with his fellow contestants about his marriage break-up and finding new love.And he’ll make sure we all know about the pressures of being the Secretary of State for Health while plugging his book, Pandemic Diaries: The Inside Story Of Britain’s Battle Against Covid. Maybe we will also find out how he had the time during the pandemic to write those diaries and why he needed a ghostwriter – the excellent Isabel Oakeshott – to publish what is supposed to be a diary. Matt will be able to set out his lockdown narrative without other politicians being able to challenge him on the detail.So is it too fanciful to think that Hancock could not only win I’m A Celebrity… but also the nation’s affection? Well, maybe so. After all, you can’t make a crab walk straight – as his campmates will no doubt discover – and, as things stand, it seems more likely his local Conservative Association will deselect him for the next election than him becoming jungle king.But don’t be surprised if he defies political gravity like Boris Johnson has done many times… Thinking about it, wouldn’t BoJo be a cracking contestant in the jungle? ”Is it too fanciful to think that Hancock could not only win IAC but also the nation’s affection?’ (Image: Getty)Boris Johnson will be using his time on the backbenches to support the new PM and secure his legacy – that’s what he told a large group of his Parliamentary supporters at a reception he held in his new Westminster office. Levelling up, Ukraine and protecting Brexit will be his focus, those guests were told.I’m sure Rishi Sunak will be reassured to know he now has the full support of Boris -something that didn’t seem to be the case a few short weeks ago – and I expect Rishi to go full steam ahead with Boris’s agenda on all three of those issues.Albania’s a safe country, its people need to go back homeA war of words has broken out between Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama. I’m firmly on Suella’s side.When between one and two per cent of your population are leaving for the UK you need to ask yourself why and sort it out.Three years ago, 50 Albanians came here via dinghy; two years ago it was 800; last year it was 12,000 – 10,000 of them single men.Albania’s a safe country. These people need to go home.Indeed they should be taken from our beaches and flown back, and Rama should be working with us to make that happen, not shouting the odds about our “failed” policies.Albania must have the failed policies, or its people wouldn’t be deserting their own country in such numbers.The rise of YIPsA Channel 4 survey of young people shows there is a rise of the “YIPs” – young illiberal progressives – who hold liberal social views but are intolerant of dissenting opinions.I’m delighted that lefty Channel 4 has finally recognised what most of us have seen for years.