To be actually angry Matt Hancock is on I'm a Celebrity

[Lex345]

I can't actually believe the bare faced brass for him to be on the programme.

I was a manager of a care home during the height of the pandemic. I remember the outright lies he personally broadcast to the nation. How he told everyone there was a "protective ring" around care homes when we couldn't even buy PPE. How they said that tests were available for people living in care homes when this just wasn't true. How the policy was to discharge to care homes from hospitals.
How over 300 pieces of guidance were released in just 2 months. How a conscious decision was made to finslly allow care home staff to wear masks at 1130pm on a friday night. How we were left to send masks in taxis to other care managers in outbreak because none could be got. How our normal PPE suppliers were told to divert stock to the NHS. How my staff couldn't buy basic groceries because they were routinely told they were not "essential workers"

I have so many painful memories from the early days of the pandemic. I won't share them, I don't want to trigger anyone as I understand everyone had it hard and has experienced awful things. But suffice to say I was so traumatised by what happened, I have left nursing as a profession. My heart is broken. I literally have a montage of the worst bits I think about every day.

To see this man parading on TV, laughing and joking, earning an obscene amount of money for frivolty whilst nurses are striking for a fair pay rise after all of his very public failings that cost people's lives, all the while when he is supposed to be serving his constituents during a cost of living crisis makes me so angry.

AIBU?

He shouldn't be there and neither should Boy George imo.
You can see the conflict in the other contestants - instinct is to be warm and welcoming to new arrivals and to do the job they are being paid for, but you can see they are angry and feel it's inappropriate.
I also agree that sitting MPs shouldn't be doing this (or taking holidays when they should be in parliament) - they should either be in Parliament or in their constituencies doing what they are paid for!
ITV know this is very compelling television, but they don't seem to care about behaviour of their guests and presenters, generally. BG has a conviction for tying a man to a radiator and beating him with chains, Ant has a drink drive conviction.

I have never watched the programme and don’t intend to start now, but I think your op is really well written Lex345 and it’s very sobering to read what you went through. YANBU. Not at all.

I was wondering whether the other camp mates would walk out in protest. That would mean the end of the show and would hit ITV in the pocket.

I completely agree Op & actually cried hard when BG was in the hut talking about how he feels.

I was really hoping they'd all join together en masse & threaten to walk out if he stayed but doesn't look like that's going to happen sadly.

I am so sorry what you had to go through OP and I agree with everything you say.

I wrote to my MP this week to say that Gavin Williamson should be investigated formally around these allegations of vile bullying in public office (his resignation is not a punishment) and also that Matt Hancock should be deselected as an MP. Withdrawing the party whip from him for ditching his job to go on a game show is no punishment.

Nobody should be able to leave their incredibly important frontline job for weeks at a time of national crisis to appear on a tv show for money, without getting sacked.

The arrogance and lack of integrity Hancock is showing is disgusting. The disrespect for the democratic process is awful- he has been voted in as a representative of his constituency- and at a time when confidence in politicians has been throughly dragged through the mud by Boris Johnson’s government, then a long period of Tory vanity power vacuum while pissing about with leadership elections to please the Tory party members and then Liz Truss’ abysmal government, the members’ absolutely dreadful pick for the job which crashed the economy and failed massively on the cost of living crisis which is still going on.

If everyone communicates their feelings to their MPs- whether they are Tory MPs or not- it means this current Tory party won’t be able to keep letting things slide all the time. They just can’t seem to shake off Boris Johnson’s terrible lack of standards. They also can’t seem to get out of the habit of serving the Tory Party’s interests first before they will even start to think about their constituents or the nation’s interests. It’s a very unhealthy priority for a government to have and very dangerous for everyone else.

Couldn’t agree more, and am praying this doesn’t lead to any kind of rehabilitation of his public image, as is obviously the intention (beyond the obscene pay check). Loathsome fucking toad.

I’d also like to thank you, OP, and I’m sorry your career and mental health were so badly affected.

My mum died in a care home during lockdown, and those people were bloody angels. Following her last minute transfer from the hospital (where her, and our, treatment had been utterly appalling, even making allowances for the pandemic), it was a safe haven for our family and a place of true care and kindness. Every single person there couldn’t have done more to make her last weeks peaceful and positive for all of us. Without them, I don’t think we could have coped with the shock and grief of her passing.

Absolutely not unreasonable. I'm a nurse.. I found it so hard to watch yesterday and don't think I can watch any more. I feel him being there trivialises our collective experiences through the pandemic. I will never forget or forgive him for how much pain he has caused to countless families.

It sticks in the throat. I am just one of many. It makes me sad that there are countless others who will be seeing this and feeling the same.

Thank you for being kind

YANBU.
We live opposite a care home for disabled adults and saw the ambulances coming and going. I don't know how the staff managed.

Interestingly they all seem super chill to be with Boy George?

Sorry did I say interestingly, I meant, hypocritically.

Him going in there and getting the stupid money for it whilst nurses are striking says everything about the state of the world just now.

I want to hide under a rock and come out when the real politicians are in charge. Everywhere.

Op, totally agree with you.

I’m not sure that the British public is horrible enough to keep voting for someone to do do all the trials. But I am probably wrong. I think the producers may have misjudged the mood.

I totally agree and am so angry. My late mum was also in care during the pandemic and the whole experience was absolutely heart breaking, both for me not being allowed in to see her and for the staff that were struggling. 😢

And yes I think it’s a poor taste choice. He should be facing an inquiry not on mainstream TV.

The TV I want to watch is you, OP, in a room with Matt Hancock, asking him the questions we’d all like to see him answer.

@ChessieFL I don’t think any serving MPs should do this programme. It’s not the same as taking time out from a normal job like others are doing. MPs are elected to serve their constituency and while Parliament isn’t in recess they should be doing that, not titting about in the jungle.

This ^ with bells on

Agree with everyone!

The sickening thing is, quite often the public have short memories.
There's every chance some people will warm to him, there'll be comments like "I don't like what he did, but fair play to him for eating a kangaroo anus/ comforting a camp mate/ whatever.

Before we know it, he'll be running for PM.

What a nauseating PR exercise.

Normally a fan of the program but I have refused to watch this year. I think ITV have been completely out of order (again) in paying for a current MP to be on the program.

Yanbu he is a tone deaf, overprivileged arsehole and I cannot abide him. I'm annoyed at ITV for letting him on the show tbh. I don't watch it anyway, but I think this was shit of them

Yes I watched it too. Harrowing. The lack of resources and help to care homes was appalling. Tragic.

I don’t think a serving MP should be allowed on reality programmes. They get enough time off in the summer. They have a job to do.

But he is funny, thats what I am reading on facebook etc.

Dire, shame on those people who are now defending him. He is a slime

The problem is that these people have now realised they can do whatever they want and get away with it. There is no accountability.

You are being MOST unreasonable.

His continued presence on TV is serving as an excellent reminder to everyone of the kind of person the Tory party think is suitable to be a Minister of State.

I agree @Lex345 disgraceful and shameless

I completely agree Op & actually cried hard when BG was in the hut talking about how he feels.

I wonder how BG's victim feels, seeing BG on TV, getting paid vast sums of money to be in I'm a celebrity.

Totally get the outrage about MH being in there, but BG is a little hypocritical to say the least. As his presence could be causing his victim and their family lots of distress.