Jungle MP Matt Hancock has been urged to trigger a by-election - or face being booted out by local Tories.
The disgraced former Health Secretary is desperately trying to cling onto his political career tonight after finishing third in I’m A Celebrity …!
But grinning Mr Hancock refused to say when he will be back at work as he spent his first day outside of the Australian jungle partying instead of catching up on his MP duties.
The camel penis-munching ex-Cabinet Minister was also warned to “come clean” over how much of his £400,000 fee he will donate to charity.
He couldn't keep his hands off girlfriend Gina Coladangelo once he returned to the JW Marriott Hotel on the Gold Coast on Sunday night.
The pair wore white and enjoyed a drinks reception before joining other contestants for a three-hour dinner party at La Luna restaurant at the Marina Mirage.
Mr Hancock is due to land in London on Wednesday after flying back from filming the ITV show.
He wants to remain an MP, according to his spokesman - but he is suspended from the Tory whip and faces a battle to have it restored.
Ian Houlder, a Conservative councillor in Mr Hancock’s West Suffolk constituency, wants party chiefs to rule out a comeback.
He told the Mirror: “I just hope they say, ‘No, mate, you’re out - use the next couple of years to find yourself something else to do because as an MP on behalf of the Tories, you’re finished, end of story’.
“Round here if he stood as an independent he wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Even if he wins back the whip, Mr Houlder believed local Tories would deselect him.
“I hope West Suffolk Conservatives say, ‘Right Matt, you’re out and we will now seek to replace you’. That’s what I think will happen,” he said.
“I think ultimately the Tory Party won’t give him the whip back and (will) give him a chance to get his beans in a row to find something else to do.”
On Monday night, Newmarket Town Council in Matt Hancock's constituency all voted 'Yes' to pass a motion calling for the MP's resignation, except one independent councillor who abstained from the vote.
A spokesperson told the Mirror: "Newmarket Town Council calls for the resignation of the MP of West Suffolk by writing to him and publicising this on social media."
Tory MPs have been given until next Monday (December 5) to decide whether they want to stand for re-election.
Unless the whip is restored by then, the party may be forced to choose a new candidate for Mr Hancock’s seat, which he won with a 23,194 majority in December 2019.
Mr Houlder said: “I would like to see him do the honourable thing - which is almost laughable - and step down, say to everybody, ‘I’m stepping down now, I want the system to call a by-election’.”
David Roach, an officer at the West Suffolk Conservative Association, said what Mr Hancock “wants to do is up to him, that’s his decision”.
He added: “He’s an MP until the next election, there’ll be a selection process between now and then. If he’s eligible to apply he’s eligible to apply, but we don’t know that yet.
“On any selection you do, you interview candidates then pick the best candidate from the selection process.
“Until you’ve got them sitting in front of you and ask them questions you can’t make a decision.
“You can’t predetermine how you’re going to interview someone.”
Mr Hancock was forced to resign after being caught breaking social distancing rules by kissing and fondling aide Ms Coladangelo behind his wife Martha’s back.
Electors in his constituency have blasted his I’m A Celeb appearance - and his extramarital affair.
Housewife Jane Meade, 66, said: "I did vote for him in the last election - I don't think I'll vote for him again.
"He's lost my vote but he had even before his I'm A Celebrity appearance because of his affair and performance as Minister for Health during the pandemic.
"I think it was the wrong time to go away. There's an awful lot going on, especially with the Tory Party.
“If he wants to continue to be an MP he should have stayed here and pulled his weight."
Martin Keogh, 60, an unemployed school groundsman, said: "I think the majority opinion around here is that nobody's thrilled about him doing the show.”
Jane Carter, 57, said: "I really think he could have stayed here, it was very poor that he didn't attend the Remembrance Day service - surely that's the job of an MP."
Retired electrician Paul Hodgkins, 70, from Six Mile Bottom, near Newmarket, said: "Hancock should be doing what he's employed to do rather than having a jolly in the jungle and getting paid all that money - that's not fair on people, is it?
"I voted for Matt. I don't know whether I'd vote for him again but I went off him after the affair with his staff member. He should not have gone to the jungle."
Furious Business Secretary Grant Shapps said Mr Hancock's ITV stint suggested he had given up hope of reviving his political career.
"Why would you go off and spend all that time in the jungle if you were going to carry on in Parliament?” said Mr Shapps.
"I'm only speculating, but I do think the right place for him to be is in Parliament looking after his constituents.
“It's a very hard job to do if you're completely out of touch, and I think he may therefore have come to the conclusion that his parliamentary career is pretty much done."
Mr Hancock’s spokesman claimed: “Matt has no intention of standing down or stepping away from politics.”
But bookies tonight are offering odds on Mr Hancock, 44, taking to the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor next autumn - and had him at 5/4 to stand again at the next general election.
In contrast, he is 33/1 to appear on next year’s Strictly and 50/1 to feature on Dancing On Ice.
He is 500/1 to be the next James Bond.
William Hill spokesman Lee Phelps said: “ Matt Hancock ’s arrival in the jungle this year certainly divided the opinion of the British public, whilst his future as a standing MP also appears to be undecided.
“The former Health Secretary is odds-against at 5/4 to stand as an MP in the next general election, with doubts about his professionalism arising following his appearance on the programme.”
The Mirror told this month how Mr Hancock skipped October’s Conservative Party conference in Birmingham to film a stint in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The MP has pledged to donate part of his reported £400,000 I’m A Celeb appearance fee to charities, but his team has repeatedly refused to say how much he would give.
The Lib Dems have urged him to reveal exactly how much he would donate.
The party’s Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said: "While his constituents saw their living standards hammered and public services pushed to the brink, Matt Hancock abandoned them for the sake of his ego.
"Now he is trying to disguise his grubby and selfish play for reality-star fame as virtuous; it won’t wash.
“He needs to come clean over the size of this promised charity donation, or people will rightly be even more angry with him.
"If Hancock has profited from his time in the jungle, it will only add insult to injury."
Mr Hancock’s spokesman again refused to say how much of the £400,000 would go to charity.
He said: "Matt will be making a donation to St Nicholas Hospice in Suffolk and causes supporting dyslexia - including the British Dyslexia Association, off the back of his appearance."
The spokesman claimed that through his I’m A Celeb appearance, “Matt has been able to raise the profile of his dyslexia campaign and he's used the platform to talk about an issue he really cares about in front of millions of people”.
Just three short mentions of the condition were broadcast.
