Andy Burnham has come under scrutiny after flying abroad for a foreign holiday just two weeks after taking office as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister took office on July 20 but will be taking a break from his day-to-day duties to spend time with his family.
The former mayor, who has three children with his wife Marie-France van Hee, will remain in direct contact with officials and continue to hold meetings during the overseas break, with allies insisting the Government will continue to function normally during his absence from Downing Street.
Reacting to the news, Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson said: “Two weeks into the job and Andy Burnham has already had enough. After dropping a number of unfunded commitments and overseeing over 2,000 illegal migrants breaking into our country, he’s bunked off for a jolly abroad. This isn’t a Prime Minister that’s serious about leading.”
A Labour source told the Mail: ‘Talk about easy mode. A week’s holiday? Because he’s had a difficult summer? Because he had to fight a by-election?’
The source said that Sir Keir Starmer ‘barely went on holiday’, adding that when he did ‘he would just sit there with a bottle of rosé and talk through work over the phone. It was inspiring.’
His predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, was forced to rip up his first holiday after becoming PM when the country was gripped by far-Right riots in August 2024.