7 times UK politicians’ holidays were totally ruined

LONDON — Heading for the sun? Always check the cancellation policy.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week became the latest in a long line of politicians to have their best-laid vacation plans ripped up in the face of events.

The newly elected PM officially confirmed Monday he’s parking his break after days of violent disorder across England and Northern Ireland. 

“The prime minister is not alone in this. We’ve seen many people over the course of the weekend, and over the disorder, having their leave canceled to ensure that we can respond to the disorder,” Starmer’s spokesperson said Monday. 

Pull up the sun lounger and let POLITICO recount seven other U.K. political big beasts whose plans for a bit of rest and relaxation have been derailed.

1. Sunak’s Ibiza retreat parked by national mourning

After losing a bitter Conservative leadership contest to Liz Truss in 2022, Rishi Sunak could be forgiven for fleeing an ungrateful country for a rave.

But, shortly after he flew out to party island Ibiza for his first holiday abroad in three years, the late Queen Elizabeth II died — sparking an intense period of national mourning and sending the Conservative MP straight back home to avoid criticism.

Sunak got to spend just a few short hours on the Spanish island and was in the House of Commons the day after the monarch’s death as MPs paid tribute.

He did manage a holiday the following year in California, where the then-prime minister went to a Taylor Swift gig and came back fully refreshed and ready to … catastrophically lose an election.

2. Dominic Raab sunbathes as Kabul falls 

Dominic Raab’s reputation never quite recovered from this one.

In August 2021, the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan as Western forces withdrew. But Dominic Raab, Britain’s tough-talking foreign secretary, was holidaying in Crete.

As chaos mounted, Raab was reportedly ordered home by Downing Street — but then stayed for an extra two days after convincing his boss Boris Johnson he could juggle.

Dominic Raab departs number 10, Downing Street. | Leon Neal/Getty Images

Raab later defended going on holiday and argued accusations he was relaxing on the beach were nonsense as the sea was … closed.

“In fact the sea wasn’t open because there was a red flag so no one was paddle-boarding,” he told the BBC. 

Raab was demoted to justice secretary the following month.

3. Boris Johnson gets stuck in Canada as London riots 

It’s not just Starmer who’s faced holiday-ruining riots over the summer.

Boris Johnson was mayor of London as the city endured five days of unrest in August 2011. Johnson, however, was thousands of miles away in Canada with his family and didn’t immediately return. When he did make it back, the tousle-haired Tory was confronted by one angry Londoner and insisted: “I came as fast as I could.”

In a bizarre twist some 13 years later, Johnson’s sister Rachel said this week that he had been initially unwilling to abandon his wife Marina Wheeler and young children in an unsuitable vehicle in a remote part of Canada.

“Her feet could not reach the pedals of the RV,” Rachel Johnson said of Wheeler’s vehicle. “He could not leave her with four children in the RV.”

4. David Cameron’s baby boom

Nothing like going on holiday and returning with … an extra child.

In the middle of a 2010 holiday, Samatha Cameron gave birth by cesarean section two weeks early. The baby was named Florence Rose Endellion, with the second middle name an homage to the village they were holidaying near called St. Endellion.

Nothing says “relaxing break” like acute sleep deprivation.

5. Gordon Brown hotfoots it from Dorset

Gordon Brown was enjoying an early (and short-lived) honeymoon as Britain’s new prime minister in 2007 when he treated himself to a no-frills staycation in Dorset, England.

Things didn’t quite go to plan. Brown had to cut short his trip after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among cattle in England. A nationwide ban on the movement of all cattle, sheep, pigs and goats was imposed. Brown called an emergency government COBRA meeting and worked from Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence, instead.

Former Labour Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, takes questions after he speaks on the Commission on the UK’s Future report on December 05, 2022. | Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

Brown had a tough time the next year too.

As the global financial crisis loomed large, Brown was persuaded to holiday in the Suffolk seaside town of Southwold, supposedly to appear more in touch with Middle England. The famously dour ex-PM visited a local cinema and maze with his family, though reportedly hated every minute of the trip and couldn’t wait to return to Scotland. Any chance of a proper break was also thwarted as his advisers made repeated trips to see him. 

6. Tony Blair gets followed around with endless celeb pals

Tony Blair famously enjoyed glamorous holidays as prime minister — opting for downtime in luxury spots including Tuscany, Barbados and Sardinia.

But his choice of company often raised eyebrows — and attracted plenty of press interest.

Blair spent time at then-Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Sardinian estate in August 2004. Known for notorious “bunga bunga” parties, Berlusconi even put on fireworks spelling out “Viva Tony!” Blair’s wife Cherie Blair later said she’d “never had such a night.”

Blair also spent four consecutive summers at crooner Cliff Richard’s £3 million Barbados home — receiving around £775,000 of hospitality during his 10 years in charge.

The Labour prime minister tried to counter this by paying money to charities in lieu of rent, but the criticism didn’t stop.

7. Theresa May’s holiday ruins it for everyone else

Theresa May consolidated her fateful decision to call a snap election in April 2017 on an infamous walking holiday in north Wales with her husband Philip May.

At the time, the move seemed politically astute with May’s Tories far ahead in the polls.

But the campaign itself was a shambles. May lost her House of Commons majority in the vote that followed and plunged the country into years of bitter parliamentary battles over Brexit.

Maybe stick to a Downing Street summer next time, guys.