Political leaders' holiday locations revealed

IT WAS a picture which would warm any tourist advertising campaign, the Prime Minister David Cameron sharing a moment on a sunny Cornish beach with his wife Samantha.

Prime Minister David Cameron, with his expectant wife Samantha, gets away from it all and relaxes in the sunshine of Cornwall Picture: Getty Images

In these times of economic hardship, Mr Cameron has made a point this year of taking his holiday in the UK to support the tourist industry.

The fact that he headed to the south west of England, an area hotly contested between his Conservatives and coalition partners the Liberal Democrats, may leave some of his new-found political partners feeling a little bit nervous.

And while Mr Cameron has been relaxing with his wife and family far away from Westminster, his Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has been in charge of the country.

However, Mr Clegg managed to get his break in earlier in the summer.

He took a trip to the small town of Olmedo in Spain, just north of Madrid. The destination was chosen more for domestic reasons than political, so his wife could catch up with her family.

But Mr Clegg may not be too happy with his holiday snaps after various newspapers showed how much weight he had put on in government.

Mr Clegg's party colleague, Scottish leader Tavish Scott also went on a European jaunt.

Mr Scott took his family to Normandy to have a look at the beaches made famous by the D-Day landings in 1944.

"Mr Scott's son is doing the Second world War next year and has a project on D-Day," a party spokesman explained.

The rest of the break was apparently spent in the Shetland Islands.

Meanwhile, First Minister Alex Salmond managed to get his first non-work trip abroad in several years.

With the Holyrood election in 2007, the official cancellation of ministerial summer holidays after the SNP won that election, then a by-election in Glasgow East in 2008, and the fallout from the Megrahi decision in the summer of 2009, there have been few opportunities for Mr Salmond to take a break.

This year he spent a few days in northern Italy and is to spend a few more on the isle of Skye.

"It's the first time I can remember him having a proper holiday," an aide said. "Even then though he was still working and on the phone."

Mr Salmond's main opponent next year, Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray, has barely had any holiday at all.

According to a spokesman much of the summer has been spent doing a tour of Scotland to meet voters. However, he did take a break in Dumfriesshire for a few days with his wife's family.

Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie, who in the past has made a virtue of supporting the Scottish tourist industry, has also chosen a domestic location for her holiday. She has just returned from a break on the East Neuk of Fife, a location popular among walkers.

While Labour is currently leaderless in the UK its former leader Gordon Brown has spent much of the summer at his home in Fife and also supporting the Pakistan disaster aid appeal.

But one leadership contender at least has spent his holiday in Scotland.

Andy Burnham took a break from the campaign trail by having a week's holiday with his family in Oban.

Scottish Green co-convener Patrick Harvie travelled further than any of his political rivals, taking some time off in New York.