Theresa May to escape Westminster woes with three week summer holiday
2 min read
Theresa May is to escape the pressures of Westminster with a three-week summer holiday, Downing Street has revealed.
The Prime Minister and her husband Philip will spend five days in northern Italy and, after an official engagement, spend two weeks walking in the Swiss Alps.
A Number 10 spokeswoman said she was "looking forward" to the break, which comes after a tumultuous three months in British politics.
Mrs May called a snap election in April, shortly after returning to London from an Easter walking holiday in Wales.
But the move backfired as the Conservatives' commanding opinion poll lead evaporated and she ended up losing her Commons majority on 8 June.
The Prime Minister's two closest aides, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, both quit in the wake of the result, and she was also forced to ditch plans for a major Cabinet reshuffle.
After striking a controversial £1.5bn deal with the DUP in return for their support in key votes, Mrs May has managed to steady the ship.
But she has also been forced to reprimand her ministers for leaking details of Cabinet meetings to the media, and for briefing against rivals amid the inevitable jockeying to succeed her.
Formal Brexit negotiations have also begun since the election, with no agreements in sight over citizens rights, the Irish border and the payment the UK will have to make when it leaves.
The Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The PM has been getting on with the job of government and as you would expect, she will take a holiday. She is looking forward to her holiday."
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