Matt Hancock departs DCMS top job
Culture Secretary promoted to Health Secretary following cabinet reshuffle, Jeremy Wright replaces him
The UK gambling industry has a new minister to answer to today, after DCMS chief Matt Hancock was moved to head up the Department of Health following yesterday’s cabinet reshuffle.
Hancock will be replaced as Culture Secretary by Jeremy Wright, the former Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland.
Wright, a veteran of parliamentary circles, was elected to parliament as the MP for Kennelworth and Southern in 2005 and previously served as Minister of State for Justice between 2012-2014 before taking up the role of Attorney General.
Wright’s voting record on gambling is limited, with the MP not having voted on any major gambling topics since 2014.
Matt Hancock joined the DCMS in 2016, serving as Minister of State for Digital and Culture, before being promoted to the role of Secretary of State in January.
During this time Hancock oversaw the imposition of the £2 cap on FOBT stakes, as well as the potential rise in Remote Gaming Duty. One of his last acts in charge of the department was to launch a consultation into the possible reform of society lotteries as a way of improving the returns to good causes, measures which were opposed by Camelot.
Upon confirmation of his new role of Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Hancock paid tribute to his former colleagues on twitter:
Loved the last two years @DCMS and thank you to all the brilliant digital dynamos, artists & mission-driven civil servants, who worked so hard to achieve so much #ThankYou
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) July 9, 2018
Steve Donoughue, CEO of GamblingConsulting.co.uk, said: “Not for the first time we have a Secretary of State who appears to have little interest in gambling. His voting record shows nothing apart from voting with the whip. Jeremy Wright QC MP has a history in the law, being both a barrister and having been Attorney General. It is probably this politically agnostic background that has got him the post as Teresa May needed a safe pair of hands to fill Matt Hancock’s place as he rises up the greasy pole to Health and Social Care.
“Unlike Hancock, Wright’s constituency has no racing connection, but is mostly rural and he has a whopping majority of 18,086. So what can we expect, unfortunately more of the same as the regulatory ratchet continues to be tightened as the Gambling Commission maintains its tanks on the industry’s lawn and the Gambling Minister, Tracey Crouch MP spends more time on loneliness.
“History suggests that it is only when Ministers have a personal interest that the dial really moves one way or the other. Maybe we missed a bullet with Hancock going as he was a fully signed up member of the delusional horse racing lobby who think the bookies are parasites. Hopefully Wright’s legal training will mean he will demand evidence before more of the industry is destroyed.”