He’s an MP - Get Him Out Of There!

There has been much (some would say justified) furor over Matt Hancock MP’s appearance on the UK TV show I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. What is a sitting MP doing taking himself off to Australia in the middle of a cost of living crisis??

Of course there is a precedent as British MPs are no stranger to the jungle (thank you Nadine Dorries, Edwina Currie et al for your service). Ms Dorries was also heavily criticised for her appearance back in 2012, but it didn’t appear to have much impact on her career; however following a global pandemic, a cost of living crisis and now a recession, the general public are perhaps feeling less lenient.?

There are three main reasons why a celebrity may feel compelled to appear on this infamous TV show:?

1. Money - with fees from ￡100,000 upwards for 2-3 weeks of work, most people wouldn’t turn that down.?
2. Career - perhaps they need to to further a flagging career or to promote a new project.
3. Reputation - to revive a public image following high profile criticism or wrongdoing. Seann Walsh is certainly in the jungle for that reason (and perhaps the others too) following his public relationship breakdown among accusations of infidelity.?

Clearly Matt Hancock is not doing it for the first two reasons. He’s doing this for redemption. To try and persuade the public he’s a good guy despite his government's handling of the pandemic (thousands died, PPE VIP lane scandals, illegal parties and of course his affair with an aide, when the rest of the population were sticking to their lockdown bubbles). Whilst his public image has been tarred by those scandals, he has also been very honest about his desire to use his jungle platform to raise awareness of his own personal battle with dyslexia and the improvements he wants to see, including gaining support for his new Bill on Dyslexia screening in primary schools.?

So is it working??

The other celebrities in the jungle with him were very critical at the start but seem to be warming to him. His impressive results in the physical trials he’s taken have won him applause (and more importantly food for his camp mates). But the public haven't yet voted him out*. Are they also starting to forgive him??

This in essence is the concept behind Restorative Justice…?

It’s a relatively new concept in the UK but a very effective mechanism in reducing reoffending.? To try and repair the harm and damage done, an offender and their victim(s) can take part in a #RestorativeJustice session which offers victims a chance to meet in person with their offender (under controlled supervision with a trained moderator) to reconcile or gain closure. It can help to promote understanding of consequences, acceptance of accountability or provide apology (from an offender), and to share impact, gain control or even show forgiveness (from the victim).?

We know Restorative Justice used as part of an Out of Court Disposal has positive results. Reoffending is reduced by 14% overall and victim satisfaction increased (85% of victims satisfied). During a recent trial in London (the largest on Out of Court Disposals to date) it showed that OOCD-processed users were also:?

• 30% less likely to reoffend?
• With 58% less for those aged 18-21?
• And a 34% reduction in offending for users from BAME groups?

There are clear benefits to both victims and offenders but also to the wider Criminal Justice sector. Restorative Justice is being used as a way to provide a positive outcome without going to court - indeed here at Make Time Count we recently won funding from InnovateUK to develop a technological solution to reduce the court backlog by 10-30% and streamline the support around RJ interventions.?

Given every ￡1 spent on Restorative Justice can save ￡9 in criminal justice costs, plus the increase in victim satisfaction, why aren’t we encouraging more use of this??

For readers not in the UK, I’m a Celebrity is a long running, reality TV show where celebrities (mainly) from the UK are sent into the Australian jungle where they compete for food by doing eye watering challenges often involving live animals and deadly insects. The public then vote to keep them in and the winner is crowned “Queen or King of the Jungle”.

*As at 23 November 2022

All mentions of I'm a Celebrity are ? Copyright ITV plc 2022.