MPs to have their summer season holidays shortened if Labour win General Election

MPs look set to have their summer holidays shortened this year if Keir Starmer becomes PM.

The Labour leader revealed he plans to reduce the length of the summer break so his Government can hit the ground running. The House of Commons usually breaks up in the penultimate week of July and doesn’t go back until the first week of September.

But Mr Starmer said he wants more time to get his first bits of legislation through if he takes the top job on Friday. He told reporters in Wales it would otherwise be tricky to make a fast start.

He didn’t say how much the summer recess will be reduced by, but there is speculation it could be shortened by at least two weeks. Mr Starmer said that the timetable is “tight” if he wants to make a bold start he hopes if he wins the General Election.

He said: “How much legislation will be through by the end of July I think is questionable because the timetable is very tight. Although, it seems obvious to me that we’ll have to extend the timetable.”

Outlining his first steps, he said: “It will be a team with their sleeves rolled up, getting on with the job.” He said by the end of the month voters can “expect action” on providing 40,000 extra NHS appointments in England a week, as well as recruiting thousands of teachers. Labour will also be making progress setting up GB Energy and the Border Security Command to tackle small boat crossings, he said.

Asked about his plans for election day, the Labour leader said he’s unlikely to celebrate with his kids if he becomes PM. He said he won’t make promises he can’t keep, even to his children.

Quizzed on whether he’d be doing “something special” with them, he told journalists: “I think tomorrow may be pretty busy, so I better not make promises I can’t keep to anyone – including my children.”