THE LAST WORD

THE LAST WORD

DID YOU KNOW?

Out of office,

but not out of Office

‘At 3 a.m. on 7 May 1910, a telegram reached the Admiralty yacht HMS Enchantress. On board was the Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith, enjoying a brief holiday in the Mediterranean. The telegram cut short the Prime Minister’s enjoyment and holiday. King Edward VII was dead’.

So begins ‘The Strange Death of Liberal England’ by George Dangerfield. It is an incidental detail to set the scene. But it is one that sticks in the mind. The extravagance of a Government yacht available for prime ministerial cruises!

The press scrutinises the holiday choices of our leaders. We want the Prime Minister to relax enough to be able to perform at the peak of their abilities. But not to be so relaxed that it appears that they have taken their eye off the ball. UK breaks can be good for domestic tourism, but are they tokenistic? Patronising, even? Holidays abroad open the way for criticism for being unpatriotic. Family fun and healthy walks are uncontroversial but a bit dull. Anything higher-octane risks a charge of hedonism. This year, Angela Rayner suffered puritanical castigation for dancing.

Riots rocked London in August 2011. Civil disorder escalated along with public demands for action. But the essential decision-making quadrumvirate was absent en vacances. The Prime Minister, Chancellor, Home Secretary, and Mayor of London soon returned. In the modern world, the mark of a true crisis is the need for in-person leadership.

In the modern age, Gladstone set the pattern for prime ministerial travel. He was partial to recuperative holidays in the south of France. The visits were all the more pleasant with George Armistead footing the bill. Gladstone walked the boring/hedonistic high wire by indulging in both. Trips to Cannes, Nice, and Biarritz contrast with more ascetic trips to North Wales. Here, chopping trees and lake swimming were the order of the day.

In the modern age, Boris Johnson has emulated this approach. The exclusivity of Mustique contrasting with the thrift of a Scottish staycation.

The lure of the sea and the Celtic fringe

The availability of Royal Navy yachts created opportunities for long coastal trips. These serviced both the waters around the UK and the warmer climes of the Mediterranean. As First Lord of the Admiralty, Churchill also enjoyed time aboard HMS Enchantress. The vessel placed a spell on him, and he spent over eight months on board between late 1911 and summer 1914.

The sea was a more direct lure for Edward Heath. Heath married his political career with success as a championship-winning sailor. His yacht, the Morning Cloud, was his holiday respite and a personal obsession. He made history as the first sitting Prime Minister to compete in, and win, a yacht race by taking the Admiral’s Cup in 1971.

The Celtic fringe has attracted many Prime Ministers as a holiday destination of choice. Lloyd George and Clement Attlee both chose the Llyn Peninsula in north Wales. Lloyd George preferred the south of the peninsula, holidaying in Criccieth. Attlee enjoyed the more bracing northern coast at Nefyn.

Lloyd George carried on Gladstone's tradition of connecting to the land. He would tend to his garden and plant potatoes. Harold Wilson spent most of his holidays on the Scilly Isles, off the southwest tip of Cornwall. His connection to the place was so strong that, on his death, it became his permanent place of rest. Gordon Brown enjoyed staycations in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. Austere and frugal, this seemed to be the most authentic of all recent holiday choices.

If you can't go far, go long

Prime Ministers have not strayed much beyond the confines of Europe whilst in office. The possibility of an urgent recall prevents lengthier trips. But that doesn't mean that holidays have to be short. The economic and political situation in 1936 was grave. But this did not prevent Baldwin from taking a three-month holiday in Aix-les-Bains. Even Margaret Thatcher, a notorious workaholic, managed to take a few breaks. She spent time in the company of Lady Glover in Switzerland. Theresa May also favours the Alps, with open space for walking and thinking.

Harold Macmillan shared Baldwin’s willingness to get away from it all. He spent the bulk of August and September with family at Chatsworth in Derbyshire. Tony Blair echoed Macmillan and Gladstone’s ability to get others to pay for holidays. This led to some questionable stays. Hosni Mubarak’s summer house in Egypt? Robin Gibb's Florida mansion? Or one of several boltholes belonging to Silvio Berlusconi?

As riots returned to the UK, our new Prime Minister would not fall into the holiday trap. He postponed and then cancelled his family summer holiday. This should not establish a precedent. Even (especially?) Prime Ministers need time to switch off, relax, and recuperate. ■

This article was provided courtesy of Ian ChapmanCurry, Legal Director in the pensions team at Gowling WLG.and host of the Almost History podcast. www.almosthistorypodcast.com