Just:: Who Is Jeremy Hunt?

Despite a Prime Ministerial fist-bump, Andrew Lansleys grip on the job of Secretary of State for Health remains shaky. While Cameron is famously resistant to reshuffles, the smart money is on a 2012 shake-up, with May and September the most likely months. The frontrunner to succeed the embattled Lansley is Jeremy Hunt, currently Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport. So, apart from the infamous mispronunciations of his name by Andrew Marr and James Naughtie, what do we know about our potential next Health Secretary? Name: The Right Honourable Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt MP Born: 1 November 1966 Education: Charterhouse School and Magdalen College, Oxford Family: Married with one son Interests: Theatre, classical music, Latin dancing (especially the lambada), Africa Political hero: William Wilberforce for the abolition of the slave trade His fans say: Very bright, smooth, cool, and a nimble operator, Paul Goodman, ConHome University career At Oxford, Hunt was President of the Oxford University Conservative Association - a position also held by his Cabinet colleagues William Hague and Dominic Grieve - and secured a First in aspiring politicians favourite subject, PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics). Business career Post-graduation, he worked briefly in management consultancy and dabbled in a series of less than successful business ventures, including a plan to export marmalade to Japan. He eventually moved there for two years to learn Japanese, supporting himself by working as a TEFL teacher Hunt remains a fan of Japanese culture and is still fluent in the language. Upon his return to Britain, he set up Profile PR, a marketing consultancy for the technology sector, then established Hotcourses, an educational publishing firm producing guides to higher education institutions and courses. The successful businessman also has a philanthropic side: his Hotcourses Foundation, a charity supporting children affected by HIV and AIDS, funded and built the Hotcourses Primary School in Kitui Province, Eastern Kenya, with over 600 pupils at present, most of whom are AIDS orphans. Parliamentary career Hunt joined Parliament at the 2005 election as MP for prosperous and leafy South West Surrey, filling the gap left when former Health Secretary Virginia Bottomley was raised to the peerage. He used his maiden speech to raise concerns about funding for Milford Hospital, a specialist rehabilitation hospital in his constituency. His proudest political achievement is saving the A&E department at the Royal Surrey County Hospital from closure but one wonders whether he secretly cherishes more his top spot in the 2008 Most Fanciable MP poll by Sky News. In Opposition, he was Shadow Minister for Disabled People from 2005 to 2007, when he took a particular interest in severely disabled children and in simplifying the benefits system. From 2007 to 2010, he was Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Shadow Minister for the Olympics. He played Nick Clegg in the rehearsals for the leaders debates to much acclaim. At the 2010 General Election, he held South West Surrey with an increased 16,000 majority and a positive swing of 8.6%. Ministerial career Having kept his DCMS brief in the Coalition Cabinet, Hunts first act was to ban ministerial cars to send a signal about funding priorities. He gained early recognition for being the first minister to set out his spending commitments, earning him a place on the public spending committee, more colloquially known as the Star Chamber. His decision to scrap the UK Film Council and 13 other cultural quangos was criticised by the arts world and the National Audit Office, but this was quickly overshadowed by the storm over Rupert Murdochs attempted 8bn acquisition of BSkyB, the phone hacking scandal and the Leveson Inquiry. Perhaps his toughest moment yet was his Commons announcement that the News Corp bid would be referred to the Competition Commission commentators were divided over his performance, with some praising his coolness under fire and others accusing him of looking out of his depth. For those with an eye on the future, maybe its time to brush up your Japanese, dig out those Latin dancing shoes or look for an African connection to your health issues Just:: Health PR is a multi-award-winning London-based agency providing political relations and PR consultancy to UK and global healthcare clients. We believe that political relations isnt a dark art. Its about communicating brilliantly and building great relationships. Thats what we do.
Want to talk to us about political relations? Call Jon on 020 8877 8425 or email jon@justhealthpr.com