HE MAY have cast himself as Heathcliff, the doomed anti-hero of Wuthering Heights, but Gordon Brown will not be tramping the Yorkshire moors for his summer holiday.
However, the Prime Minister is acutely aware that the economic gloom has led to a tightening of the nation's purse-strings, and will shun the luxury of Barbados or Tuscany enjoyed by Tony Blair, his predecessor in 10 Downing Street, to prevent sparki
ng any distaste from cash-strapped voters.
Mr Brown is reportedly considering a "bucket and spade" holiday with his wife, Sarah, and their two sons in East Anglia, followed by some time at the family home in North Queensferry.
Normally, Mr Brown is to be found heading for Cape Cod in the United States, a favourite destination.
Instead, however, he could find himself in north Norfolk or near Southwold in Suffolk for a week free of the demands of Whitehall.
Last year, only weeks into the job, he called off a family break in Dorset to return to London in a bid to tackle a sudden outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
Last week, though looking slightly less grey and exhausted than of recent times, he joked with a committee of MPs about his plans to take a break.
"I'm looking forward to taking a holiday," Mr Brown told Tory MP Sir Patrick Cormack, adding that he encouraged everyone else to do likewise.
His Tory rival, David Cameron, is also opting to stay in Britain. He is taking a holiday in Cornwall with his wife Samantha and their children.
The Camerons have previously holidayed on the island of Jura, off the west coast of Scotland. Last year they spent ten days in Brittany in France.
MPs will be wary of appearing to give any signs of holidaying in exotic locations after the furore provoked by their refusal to ditch the "John Lewis list" that allows them to spend £24,000 a year on rent, mortgage payments and furnishings for their second homes.
The party leaders will head off after parliament rises for an 11-week summer recess on 22 July – though probably not before hearing the result of the Glasgow East by-election, which is being held two days later.
This has forced a rethink in the best-laid plans of Alex Salmond, the First Minister. With Holyrood breaking earlier than Westminster, he had already pencilled in a holiday on the west coast of Scotland, accompanied by his golf clubs.
Mr Salmond's spokesman said he would still try to put this plan into action at a later date – along with some work on the first-ministerial golf handicap.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, whose wife is Spanish, will be heading to Spain, to spend some time with the in-laws, as he does every summer.
It has yet to be decided who will stand in for the Prime Minister during his break.
Under Tony Blair, the job was given to deputy prime minister John Prescott – putting the tabloids on red alert for any gaffes during his time with his hands on the levers of power.
But Mr Brown has not appointed a deputy PM, meaning Labour party deputy leader Harriet Harman and Justice Secretary Jack Straw are likely to compete for the glory.
William Hague, the former Tory leader, is likely to stand in for Mr Cameron, as party chairwoman Caroline Spelman remains embroiled in an embarrassing row after claiming parliamentary expenses for a nanny.
The full article contains 587 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
