In Haverhill, home to about 27,000 of his constituents, the city council told him to “clear the field” after its members held a vote and decided by a majority that he should be told to resign. In a letter sent to his office, the 13-member authority, which has several Tory councillors, accused the MP of losing interest in the living wage. Written by Colin Poole, the council clerk, he said: “By a majority, councilors have asked me to express their displeasure at your decision to absent yourself from your duty to your constituents to join the ITV cast of I ‘m A. Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! “At a time when unprecedented cost of living pressures on your residents are causing real hardship for them and we have a failing local health service with terrible ambulance response times, the energy crisis causing serious problems for schools and other public services in maintaining services, the council believes we need all hands on deck to fight our corner. “At the moment there is no one to speak for West Suffolk in the House of Commons and your actions are unlikely to win any sympathy for the area when all the other MPs are in the room fighting their own corners. “By your actions you have made it clear to everyone that you see your future outside of politics.” The letter concludes by saying that councilors are “asking you to do the honorable thing and resign your position so that you can follow your chosen path and clear the field for someone who wants to serve the people of West Suffolk ». Mr Hancock is considered such a big draw by the makers of I’m a Celebrity, which started at the weekend, that his appearance has been delayed until Wednesday. He was officially announced as a contestant by hosts Ant and Dec on Tuesday night. Mr Sunak said he supported the Chief Whip’s decision to suspend Hancock from the Conservative Party and said he was “disappointed” by his behaviour. Mr Hancock resigned as health secretary last year after he was caught on CCTV kissing an aide in breach of Covid guidelines. He later left his wife and now lives with former assistant, Gina Colandangelo.
