By most people’s standards, Sir Keir Starmer deserves a holiday. Only last month the Prime Minister won a historic election victory for Labour. On the campaign trail, Sir Keir criss-crossed the UK trying to appeal to voters, and surely exhausted himself in the process.
But since his triumph on July 4, Sir Keir hasn’t had his beach break. First he went to a series of international conferences, then he dealt with unrest at home after the horrific murder of three children in Southport and a subsequent wave of racist rioting. It’s been a stressful summer for Westminster’s finest in general.
Ever since Rishi Sunak called a snap election in May, all dreams of a break were put on hold as parties went on an election footing. Now they are quietly trying to get some sun. But political summer holidays are fraught affairs.
Prime ministers have to be careful to pitch their trips right: not so lavish as to seem out of touch, but not too consciously down-to-earth that the destination seems affected. And politicians now holiday under the shadow of Dominic Raab, the former foreign secretary who was sunbathing in Crete as the Taliban marched on Kabul back in summer 2021. An ill-advised holiday can be career-ruining.
There are many ways to holiday. In his imperial early phase in Downing Street, Sir Tony Blair often had breaks in Tuscany, taking his young family to a place that felt classy but not out of reach. Later, his destinations became more glamorous.
Taking favours from rich friends, he jetted off to Sir Cliff Richard’s mansion in Barbados and on another occasion put his feet up in the Sardinian villa of late Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi. Other prime ministers, trying to seem more down to earth, took breaks in the UK. In 2007, Gordon Brown went to Dorset, visiting a sailing academy near Weymouth.
He was mocked for wearing a suit jacket at the beach. In following years, the Browns went to Norfolk and the Lake District. In the days of austerity, David Cameron spared expense by enjoying long summer weekends at Chequers, the PM’s grace-and-favour residence.
That came with its own problems — after one lunch at a pub, Lord Cameron realised he had left his eight-year-old daughter behind. These days, politicians aren’t afraid to go abroad, but do so with caution — the new Labour government will be careful not to be spotted falling out of bars in Magaluf. But where are the politicos going this summer? After a gruelling 2024 so far, Sir Keir was supposed to be sneaking off on his first holiday last week, reportedly to Europe.
But a spate of riots across the country put paid to that. Last summer, Sir Keir had a staycation and was spotted in Swansea, visiting an all-weather sports complex in Clase, and had a game of padel. The year before that, he went on holiday to Puerto Sóller in Mallorca.
He wasn’t PM then, but Sir Keir got some flak for going “missing in action” during a period when the cost-of-living crisis and rising bills were biting. Ex-prime minister Rishi Sunak’s disastrous election loss means that he is able to take as much holiday as he’d like (within reason, he’s still an MP). And it seems the Sunaks are taking advantage of their new found free time: they were spotted at Beverly Hills restaurant Funke at the end of July.
Apparently, mushroom pizzas there cost £32. The Sunaks own a £5.7 million luxury penthouse in Santa Monica, which isn’t far away.
The trip may not have been entirely for pleasure: there have been rumours that Sunak’s next move could be to work in Silicon Valley, perhaps in venture capital — he was an investment banker before going into politics. Sunak previously denied that he planned to move abroad after the election. The former business secretary’s tilt at the Tory leadership is off to a bad start after a summer holiday prevented her from attending a hustings over the weekend.
Rivals briefed that Badenoch had sent “a really bad message” when she skipped the event, one of the first in a long contest. One wag dubbed her “Kemi Hadenough”. Lord Cameron, the great “chillaxer”, always looked good on holiday.
As opposition leader, pictures of him during some down time with his wife Samantha in Padstow seemed to show a new look modern Tory leader. He also had a summer break one year in Ibiza. And true to form, Lord Cameron was quick to get away this summer too.
He was spotted bodyboarding in Polzeath beach. The Camerons have a £2 million bolthole nearby in Daymer Bay — the site of the famous shepherd’s hut. One person who is now on permanent holiday is the calamitous ex-PM Liz Truss , who lost her Norfolk seat at the election.
Truss is now free to travel the world and seems to be taking advantage of it. First, she visited the US for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where she called Joe Biden a “weak president”. Then she went to the Edinburgh Festival, where she was dressed down in jeans and did an interview with presenter Iain Dale.
Last week, did an event at Beccles Public Hall, Suffolk, which was disrupted by a remote-controlled lettuce banner, in reference to her short time in Downing Street. Truss was not amused. American politicians do vacations differently.
Many, from JFK to Clinton to the Obamas, opt for Martha’s Vineyard, a relaxed and private 20-mile wide island off the coast of Massachusetts. Joe Biden’s summer is unusual: the 81-year-old has announced he won’t be standing at this November’s election, so has more time for a break. He’s been spotted more regularly at his holiday home in Delaware’s Rehoboth Beach, often sitting in a chair on the sand.
What of Biden’s possible successor, Kamala Harris? Already used to life in the sun in her native California, Harris pushes the boat out for vacations by travelling to Hawaii, where she enjoys hiking..
