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Theresa May on holiday: Who's in charge while the Prime Minister unwinds in Switzerland

Everything you need to know about the Prime Minister's trip to Switzerland, a mere month since taking office

Thursday 11 August 2016 11:53 BST

Prime Minister Theresa May is taking a break to unwind in Switzerland (Getty)

After a frantic first four weeks as prime minister, Theresa May is catching her breath on a 13-day break in Switzerland.

So who’s in charge while she’s away?

Theresa May. Modern communications mean that the prime minister can always be contacted wherever he or she is. The tradition of leaving a senior Cabinet minister in charge while the PM was away disappeared when Tony Blair appeared reluctant to leave his deputy John Prescott minding the shop.

Why Switzerland?

Ms May and her husband Philip have been going to Switzerland for 35 years. The main attraction is their love of walking in the Alps, which the couple discovered by chance on their first trip to the country. They are said to enjoy doing ever more strenuous hikes each time they visit. Their favourite places include Zermatt, the Bernese Oberland and Lucerne.

Mrs May has described the Alps as a “wonderful summer destination” where “the views are spectacular, the air is clear and you can get some peace and quiet,” although the latter might be harder given her new job.

Will they ever walk alone?

Unlikely. The Mays are expected to be accompanied every step of the way by security men and women. The PM is likely to be joined on holiday by a Number 10 private secretary and administrative staff called “garden girls” because their office is next to the Downing Street garden.

What happens if there is a national emergency and she's stuck up a mountain with no phone signal?

Number 10 is confident that the PM will always be contactable by the Downing Street switchboard (dubbed “switch”). It is famously efficient at tracking down people wherever they are in the world.

Didn't Margaret Thatcher holiday in Switzerland?

Yes. Our first woman PM regularly stayed at the lakeside home of Sir Douglas Glover, a retired Tory MP. But Baroness Thatcher was notoriously reluctant to switch off. Lunches and dinners were organised with Switzerland’s great and good. She sometimes stunned Number 10 staff by cutting short her summer break because there was so much to do at home.

Will Ms May really switch off?

As Home Secretary for six years, Ms May had a reputation for being a workaholic who often read the papers in her red boxes until the early hours. There will be no shortage of reading material in her new post. But allies say the hillwalking will enable her to recharge her batteries, and she is said to enjoy the hotel whirlpool.

The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address

Show all 6

1/6The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address

The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address

Brexit

The big one. Theresa May has spoken publicly three times since declaring her intent to stand in the Tory Leadership race, and each time she has said, ‘Brexit means Brexit.’ It sounds resolute, but it is helpful to her that Brexit is a made up word with no real meaning. She has said there will be ‘no second referendum’ and no re-entry in to the EU via the back door. But she, like the Leave campaign of which she was not a member, has pointedly not said with any precision what she thinks Brexit means

Reuters

The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address

General election

This is very much one to keep off the to do list. She said last week there would be ‘no general election’ at this time of great instability. But there have already been calls for one from opposition parties. The Fixed Term Parliaments Act of 2010 makes it far more difficult to call a snap general election, a difficulty she will be in no rush to overcome. In the event of a victory for Leadsom, who was not popular with her own parliamentary colleagues, an election might have been required, but May has the overwhelming backing of the parliamentary party

Getty

The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address

HS2

Macbeth has been quoted far too much in recent weeks, but it will be up to May to decide whether, with regard to the new high speed train link between London, Birmingham, the East Midlands and the north, ‘returning were as tedious as go o’er.’ Billions have already been spent. But the £55bn it will cost, at a bare minimum, must now be considered against the grim reality of significantly diminished public finances in the short to medium term at least. It is not scheduled to be completed until 2033, by which point it is not completely unreasonable to imagine a massive, driverless car-led transport revolution having rendered it redundant

EPA

The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address

Heathrow expansion

Or indeed Gatwick expansion. Or Boris Island, though that option is seems as finished as the man himself. The decision on where to expand aviation capacity in the south east has been delayed to the point of becoming a national embarrassment. A final decision was due in autumn. Whatever is decided, there will be vast opprobrium

PA

The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address

Trident renewal

David Cameron indicated two days ago that there will be a Commons vote on renewing Britain’s nuclear deterrent on July 18th, by which point we now know, Ms May will be Prime Minister. The Labour Party is, to put it mildly, divided on the issue. This will be an early opportunity to maximise their embarrassment, and return to Tory business as usual

EPA

The 6 most important issues Theresa May needs to address

Scottish Independence

Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP are in no doubt that the Brexit vote provides the opportunity for a second independence referendum, in which they can emerge victorious. The Scottish Parliament at Holyrood has the authority to call a second referendum, but Ms May and the British Parliament are by no means automatically compelled to accept the result. She could argue it was settled in 2014

AFP/Getty

The PM couldn't have picked a more neutral destination then?

True. Switzerland is the oldest neutral country in the world; it has not fought in a war since 1815.

If Ms May hadn’t been going there for so many years, people might have interpreted her visit as a sign that she would seek the “Swiss model” for the UK after the Brexit. Switzerland has partial access to the European single market through more than 120 bilateral agreements, giving it looser trade links than Norway, but does accept EU rules on free movement.

Why didn’t Ms May opt for a staycation?

There had been speculation at Westminster that she might follow in David Cameron’s footsteps by booting the UK tourism industry. The PM loves walking in Snowdonia and gave Angela Merkel, who also likes hiking, a book about walking there at their first meeting last month. Ms May has already cancelled one holiday this year and might have decided to be true to herself rather than “spin” her holiday. Mr Cameron was criticised for being much-photographed on his annual Cornwall holiday and then trying to avoid the cameras on family breaks to places such as the Canaries, Portugal or Spain.

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