Who is in charge while Theresa May is on a hiking holiday in Switzerland?

Four weeks after landing the top job, the PM takes to the hills. Will we survive alone?

Bye! Theresa May and her husband are on holiday in Switzerland

(Reuters)

After a month in the job, Prime Minister Theresa May has gone on holiday, and will spend two weeks in Switzerland.

A Number 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister will be taking a holiday in Switzerland and will be returning to the UK on 24 August.”

But in the meantime, who is in charge of running Britain? Can we survive without the captain at the helm? Will we descend into economic and political dereliction with no-one in Number 10? Will the Queen have to face Jeremy Corbyn at the dispatch box and block his tepid sallies on inequality?

With sad predictability, no wildly unusual power transferals are planned. Parliament is in recess, and the Olympics and the Labour Party’s self-immolation are sure to provide enough entertainment to keep the UK from transforming into a Hieronymous Bosch hell-scape.

In an uncompromising statement from Downing Street, The Independent was informed: “The Prime Minister remains in charge. She will be kept updated and briefed on issues as necessary.”

Ms May is a regular visitor to the Swiss Alps, telling the Telegraph in 2007: “My husband and I discovered the joys of walking in Switzerland quite by chance.

“We first visited the country about 25 years ago. On a return trip, we decided to go walking, enjoyed it and gradually began doing more adventurous hikes.”

When David Cameron took holidays during his premiership, he would usually be accompanied by a small team of staff, who would keep him up to date on any important developments.

This could be more demanding for staff if Ms May is set to spend her days clambering up and down mountains.