A senior Labour backbencher has warned the Prime Minister that he will “come to regret” taking a holiday so soon into the job.
Andy Burnham will spend time with his wife and family this month, Downing Street said (Image: Getty)
Labour civil war has broken out just weeks into Andy Burnham’s premiership, after a senior backbencher branded his decision to take a holiday so early in the role “a mistake”. Downing Street confirmed that the Prime Minister was taking some time off to be with his wife and family, just 15 days after he replaced Sir Keir Starmer in Number 10.
While no further details were released, the move has already sparked infighting, with backbencher Graham Stringer publicly challenging the PM. He told Talk TV: “He doesn’t know the officials, he doesn’t know most of the parliamentary Labour party, and a week now spent learning the detailed ropes and the administration and all the problems that will face him would be worth a month later on, when events in the Commons and elsewhere start hitting him.”
Mr Stringer added: “I think he will come to regret it. He’s fought an exhausting by-election … So I understand why he’s gone, but I just think practically, he is making a mistake.”
Senior Labour backbencher Graham Stringer publicly challenged the PM’s decision (Image: LightRocket via Getty Images)
Justice Secretary Alex Horris insisted Mr Burnham will remain in “constant contact with his office”, adding that he expects to be “speaking to him virtually every day”.
Louise Haigh, who was previously ousted from Sir Keir’s Cabinet over a fraud conviction, will take the reins in his absence as deputy Prime Minister.
It is not uncommon for Prime Ministers to take some time off while Parliament is in recess over August, although it is not surprising that Mr Burnham’s short stint has raised some eyebrows.
Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson hit out at the move, telling The Sun: “Two weeks into the job and Andy Burnham has already had enough.”
He added: “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.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she wouldn’t criticise Mr Burnham for taking a holiday after only two weeks, but did condemn his decision not to recall Parliament after becoming Prime Minister to face MP scrutiny.
“Andy Burnham was running away from Parliament – he can’t run away forever,” she told reporters. “I’m not going to be giving him a holiday when we come back in September.”
Mr Burnham’s time off follows an eventful first two weeks in office, which have included a blitz of policy announcements ranging from cutting VAT on household electricity bills and reinstating a £2 bus fare cap to introducing business rate cuts for pubs.