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YES WE HAN
Matt Hancock enters Prime Minister race with pledge to reboot Tories and attract younger voters
WANNABE PM Matt Hancock enters the Tory leadership race today with a vow to reboot his party and broaden its appeal.
The 40-year-old Health Secretary claimed he is a “fresh start” candidate who is connected with modern Britain.
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And he insisted he is the man to kick out the “ugly politics” of the last few years to able to attract a new generation of young voters.
He warned that the next leader must look beyond Brexit – or risk letting Jeremy Corbyn into Number 10 by Christmas.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday, Mr Hancock promised to build a “completely different party” that looks to the future and heals the bitter divisions in society.
Mr Hancock declared: “We’ve got to unite the party but we need to unite the country, too.”
“The next Prime Minister must not just be the leader for now but for years to come.
“We have to deliver Brexit and then move forwards to bring the country together to solve the problems so many people face.
'WE TORIES NEED A GENERATIONAL SHIFT'
“That means getting more money into people’s pockets and funding public services properly. Most people want to see higher pay, not higher taxes.
“There’s much more we could do to tackle low pay. For instance, I want to see the living wage go up further and faster.
“A highly-paid, low tax workforce will deliver for people and keep socialists out of Number 10.”
Dad-of-three Mr Hancock admitted three years of Brexit chaos had sapped the life out of his party – but he claimed he can turn the tide by reaching out to young voters.
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The self-confessed computer geek said: “We need to connect with the next generation, with younger working people. I don’t just mean students and those who have just left university.
“The average age of people who vote Conservative is now 51. So we need to reach out to a whole new generation of people – not just those in their 20s but those in their 30s and 40s, too.
“It’s about our policies, such as on the environment, but it’s also about the way we talk and behave, making us look and feel like a completely different party so we connect with modern Britain.
“We desperately need that generational shift. We need a fresh start and to turn the page on some of the ugly politics of the last few years.”
Dad-of-three Mr Hancock is the youngest challenger in the expected field of at least 15 runners but insists his youthfulness is an advantage.
He points out he was a minister at 33 and already runs the fifth largest organisation in the world – the NHS with 1.9 million employees.
Dressed down in jeans, suede shoes, open-neck shirt and blue M&S jacket, he added: “People will judge, but if you are good enough you are old enough.
“I have got the enthusiasm, drive and energy to make things happen in government.
“I have worked very closely with the last two Prime Ministers and seen very close up what the job entails. So I am ready.”
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Leadership contender: Matt Hancock
Age: 40
Brexit policy: Voted Remain. Now backs leaving by October 31 but only with a deal.
Best other policy: Higher wages, not higher taxes.
Chances: 29-1.
Mr Hancock threw his hat in the ring after seeking advice from David Cameron and Theresa May, who both enthusiastically urged him to stand.
His other perceived weakness is the fact he campaigned for Remain in the 2016 referendum, although he now backs Brexit.
Asked how he would deliver it, he said he would try to get MPs’ support for a deal by being “straightforward” about his aims.
Mr Hancock said Mrs May “didn’t start by levelling with people about the trade-offs.
“I think it is much, much easier to bring people together behind a proposal if you are straightforward in advance.”
He stressed he would not join a customs union or call a general election - which means working with the same Commons arithmetic.
'I KNOW MY BELIEFS AND STAND BY THEM'
“That’s the only way through,” he said. “Anybody who actively chooses a no-deal Brexit will be stopped by Parliament and risks a general election – which would only make Corbyn Prime Minister by Christmas.
“I would go back to the EU but you have also got to have a plan B and bring people together in Parliament.
“We’ve got to deliver as soon as possible – I’d want it by October 31. Let’s get on and deliver it.”
Mr Hancock is not fazed by the prospect of locking horns with hot favourite Boris Johnson over the next few weeks.
He hinted that the former Foreign Secretary risks creating further division, saying: “Boris has a great deal to offer but to unite the country we need to look forwards. There’s a big advantage to a fresh start from all the Brexit rows.
Leadership contender: Dominic Raab
Age: 45
Brexit policy: Leave by October 31, with no deal if EU won’t budge.
Best other policy: A penny off income tax.
Chances: 6-1.
“We have to beat Jeremy Corbyn’s socialism, which will hit people in the pocket. He wants higher taxes and his reckless policies will cost jobs. We need to offer higher pay, not higher taxes. Young people want that as much as almost anyone.”
“We need to deliver Brexit and then get on to winning this other big argument – how to build an economy that helps make people better off and gives them more fulfilling lives.
“We can only defeat the Labour party by offering higher pay not higher taxes. I want to put pounds in people’s pockets when we can afford it.”
Mr Hancock is coy about naming his backers but is believed to have the support of four other Cabinet ministers.
He was diagnosed as dyslexic after being tested for the learning difficulty when at university – but it never held him back.
After graduating at Cambridge and Oxford, he worked as an economist at the Bank of England, and for his family tech industry.
In fact, he believes it helps him to make quick and important decisions.
“I’m well known for being a rapid decision-maker,” he says. “What helps me make rapid decisions is that I know what I believe and I’m going to stand by it.
“”When I put the case for why I should be the next leader of the Conservative party, I’m going to make the case for what I believe in. I’m not going to attack and say things just because they sound right.
“If you are true to yourself that’s the best preparation you can have for doing the job.”
Leadership contender: Boris Johnson
Age: 54
Brexit policy: Leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal.
Best other policy: Massive investment in the NHS.
Chances: 6-5.
Mr Hancock is a dab-hand with modern technology. He set up his own “Matt Hancock” app, helped deliver high-speed broadband as Culture Secretary and is now overseeing the growing tech revolution in the NHS.
His leadership campaign has received over £100,000 in donations from investors in the digital world.
He said: “People are looking for energy, drive and optimism. We are stuck in a rut and need to get moving.
“I hope I have shown in several different parts of government that is that I can get things done. So whether it’s the record amount of funding going into the NHS and the growing tech revolution in the NHS.
“There’s a whole series of areas where I have managed to get things done and that’s one of the things people are looking for.
“There’s a great technological revolution going on. Jobs are being destroyed by it - but also created. If we get it right, the jobs we create will be better jobs, better paid and more interesting because the machines can do all the boring stuff.”
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Mr Hancock is already building support among younger MPs.
Rising star Bim Afolami has revealed he will be backing him. And Maggie Throup, the Erewash MP elected in 2015, has announced her support.
Other supporters include health minister Stephen Hammond and former sports minister Tracey Crouch. Mr Hancock also received a boost from ex-Labour MP Michael Dugher who warned former colleagues should “fear a young, energetic, modern Conservative leader who knows that winning means seeking broad support beyond your traditional base”.
The Sun Says
HOW refreshing to hear big ideas from Tory leadership hopefuls after years of political stagnation under Theresa May.
Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Matt Hancock are staking big claims with pledges to shake up tax, launch big infrastructure projects and tackle rising crime.
Hancock is right to warn that the Tories must wake up and appeal to disaffected younger voters who want to see a proper vision for their future.
The country has been crying out for fresh ideas, but ultimately Brexit will define this leadership election, just as it has dominated our politics for the past three years.
The Tory grassroots want a clear, decisive message from able candidates on the biggest issue facing Britain.
Yet at the moment it looks like a cavalry charge of up to FIFTEEN runners, bulked out with no-hopers and some of the biggest wannabes since the Spice Girls.
Already the Tory Remainer ranks are plotting a Stop Boris campaign and among potential candidates six back No Deal, four reject it and three are in-between.
It is another sign of the size of this Tory crisis that such an absurdly large field of candidates is tolerated.
You would think a party grandee like Sir Graham Brady would be just the sort of old hand to help sort out this mess.
But he seems ready to add to it by throwing his own large-size hat into the ring.
The Tories have no divine right to government and they need to get a grip fast.
This contest is too important for petty ambitions and if they cock this up the voters will never forgive them.
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Three Trump rivals
By Ryan Sabey
THREE leadership candidates could steal a march on rivals — after bagging invites to the state banquet with Donald Trump.
Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove and Penny Mordaunt will be at Buckingham Palace for the June 3 event hosted by the Queen.
It’s not clear if the US leader will meet any other contenders. Sources have downplayed suggestions of a meeting with Boris Johnson.
Ex-Brexit minister David Jones said: “If the president can meet those likely to be our next PM it could be good for both countries.”
Jeremy Corbyn has refused to attend the dinner, saying the UK “should not honour a president who uses racist and misogynist rhetoric”.
But he is willing to meet Trump.
Mr Trump and wife Melania flew into Japan yesterday to meet its new emperor.
Piers Morgan asks Health Secretary Matt Hancock if he wants to be PM if Theresa May resigns after successfully getting her Brexit deal through
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