UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham went on vacation two weeks after taking office. Downing Street said he would remain in contact with government officials and continue to oversee the work of the cabinet. This is reported by The Telegraph, writes UNN.
Andy Burnham is going on vacation two weeks after becoming Prime Minister. Downing Street said he would take a break from daily work to spend time with his family, but assured that he would remain in contact with officials and continue to lead the government,
Burnham became Prime Minister on July 20 — the sixth head of government in the last decade. He promised that his premiership would be a "reset for Britain" and bring "the biggest changes in 40 years."
Speaking on the steps of Downing Street, he said that people are "tired of politics," and the main task is "to make politics work, to make it more effective."
In his first two weeks in office, he announced a series of policy decisions to reduce the cost of living, gave a speech on the need for social care reform, and outlined his vision for tackling youth unemployment, giving more powers to mayors, and using increased defense spending as a stimulus for regional development.
Downing Street did not disclose how long Burnham and his family would be on vacation or where they would go.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson said: "The government continues to operate as usual. The Prime Minister remains in contact with officials, holds meetings, and regularly receives updates on the work of the government."
Addendum
Keir Starmer tried to take a vacation in 2024 — five weeks after moving into Downing Street, 10. However, he had to cancel his plans due to the summer riots that spread across the country after the murders in Southport. He was eventually able to rest only at New Year — on Madeira.
In August 2025, Starmer also had to interrupt his vacation in Scotland due to negotiations on Ukraine with Donald Trump.
His predecessor Rishi Sunak vacationed in California in the summer, where he and his family were photographed at a fair in Santa Monica.
In 2020, Boris Johnson vacationed in the Scottish Highlands, but had to cut the trip short after the location of the cottage became known.
Baroness May preferred hiking in Switzerland and Italy, and also visited Snowdonia while working at Downing Street.
She is known for deciding during a walking vacation in spring 2017 to call a snap parliamentary election to get a stronger mandate for Brexit negotiations, although she had previously repeatedly stated she would not do so. The risk did not pay off: the election led to the Conservatives losing their majority.
David Cameron vacationed in Ibiza, the Algarve, and Lanzarote, while Gordon Brown was photographed on a beach in Dorset in a jacket.
Brown took that vacation two months after becoming Prime Minister in 2007 as part of a PR campaign reportedly initiated by his wife to show that they were staying in the UK for the summer.
The trip had to be canceled after four hours due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
The following year, the couple visited Southwold in Suffolk, but according to a story about "New Labour" published two years later, Brown "hated every minute" and "couldn't wait to get back to Scotland."
Tony Blair loved visiting Tuscany. He also stayed at Cliff Richard's estate in Barbados and at Silvio Berlusconi's villa in Sardinia.
Margaret Thatcher vacationed in Cornwall and also made short trips to Switzerland and other European countries.
It was reported that after a 10-day vacation in Corsica, she returned home after just four days, saying that she and her husband Denis had already "seen the whole island."
Before that, Harold Wilson vacationed on the Isles of Scilly. He liked the place so much that he was later buried there.
Although Burnham has been on Downing Street for only two weeks, he spent the last few months in a very intense struggle for power.
In May, he announced his intention to run in the Makerfield constituency after the incumbent MP Josh Simons stepped aside for him.
He then had to run a five-week campaign in the snap election, and on June 18 he was elected as an MP. The next day, he resigned as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Immediately after that, he had to return to London to declare his readiness to lead the Labour Party after Starmer's resignation.
For four weeks, he held meetings with Labour MPs and trade union leaders to secure their support, and also worked with his closest aides on forming the first cabinet.
He also met with senior officials so they could prepare to implement the policies he planned to introduce upon taking power.
A Cabinet Office source said that Louise Haigh, the First Secretary of State, would be working this week.
This makes her the most senior minister by position in Whitehall during Burnham's absence.
However, the source stressed that this does not mean Haigh is running the government, as the Prime Minister will maintain close contact with officials.
The role of First Secretary of State technically makes Haigh the highest-ranking member of the government by status.
Burnham gave her this title along with the task of managing the work of the Cabinet and ensuring that his instructions are carried out across all government departments.
Before he became Prime Minister, she was one of his closest advisers and took part in "pre-consultations" with officials, during which she discussed the policies he planned to introduce.
Her current influential position marks a significant change after she was dismissed from the role of Transport Secretary in November 2024, following the revelation that she had pleaded guilty to fraud in her youth.