Matt Hancock has this morning had the whip suspended over his decision to appear on the new series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. Less than an hour after the news broke that the former health secretary – who resigned over a breach of Covid rules through an extra-marital affair – plans to head to the jungle to appear on the primetime reality show, the new chief whip Simon Hart suspended the whip with immediate effect. Announcing the news, Hart said: ‘Following a conversation with Matt Hancock, I have considered the situation and believe this is a matter serious enough to warrant suspension of the whip with immediate effect’.

Now this decision ought not to have come as a complete surprise to Hancock. There is precedent here. When Nadine Dorries became the first MP to appear on the show, she had the whip withdrawn by the then-chief whip Andrew Mitchell while on the series. Dorries only discovered the news once she had been voted out of the jungle (she discussed the debacle with me for the Women with Balls podcast).

As for Hancock’s version of events, his allies say that given that he doesn’t expect to serve in the government – after being left on the sidelines in the reshuffle – it presents ‘an incredible opportunity for him to engage with the 12 million Brits who tune in every single night’. That audience could certainly prove helpful to Hancock when it comes to the book he will be releasing soon.

An ally tells Coffee House:

‘Matt has told the whips in Parliament and he will use his time in the jungle to promote his dyslexia campaign. Matt has an excellent team working with him in West Suffolk, but producers have agreed that he can communicate with them if there’s an urgent constituency matter.

Matt has always believed in communicating directly with the people he represents – whether that’s getting out and pounding the streets in West Suffolk, through all sorts of media or via those press conferences. There are many ways to do the job of being an MP. Whether he’s in camp for one-day or three weeks, there are very few places people will be able to see a politician as they really are.

Where better to show the human side of those who make these decisions than with the most watched programme on TV?’

The problem for Hancock is that he may soon discover that viewers are more interested in his reflections on his personal life and ability to eat the private parts of animals than his dyslexia campaign or even his views on the main crisis facing the country: the cost of living.

In terms of what this means for the government, Hancock is a party loyalist – but now he could feel far less inclined to vote with the government on his return. His local association were already unhappy with him following his decision to leave his wife Martha after a very public affair.

At a time with the Tory party is becoming increasingly ungovernable, the fast decision to withdraw the whip is meant to send a message. Under Liz Truss, her chief whip Wendy Morton struggled to enforce party discipline. Her successor Simon Hart wants to bring back a sense of control.