Starmer moans he hasn't had a holiday since becoming PM: 'It would have been good to get away'

In the weeks since then, Labour has been eager to show it has a packed agenda for Government, cutting the size of the summer recess break in which MPs are away from Westminster and making a series of early policy announcements including axing universal Winter Fuel Payments.

And amid riots across the UK following the deaths of three girls in Southport, the Government acted quickly in a bid to show it had a hold of the situation. Court hearings were fast-tracked, daily Cobra meetings held, and Starmer cancelled his summer holiday abroad with his family.

After less than three months in office, the lack of a summer holiday appears to have irked the Prime Minister.

"It would have been good to have got away over the summer for a break, if I’m honest, because we’ve been running at this for a long time," he told The Observer.

"Whilst the campaign itself was six and a bit weeks, the truth is we’ve been in campaign mode since at least the turn of the year.

"I haven’t had a day off since Rishi stood out there in the rain without his umbrella.

"I also know that this is not a good thing.

"Everybody, including politicians, needs to get away from time to time to have holidays."

After cancelling his family holiday, Starmer instead split his time in August working from No10 and the Prime Minister's country retreat of Chequers.

During the General Election campaign, the Conservatives attempted to paint Starmer as a man who could not be trusted to put in the hours necessary to lead the country.

A week out from the election, the Tories claimed the Labour leader would not work beyond 6pm on a Friday evening.

Starmer had said that he tries not to "do a work-related thing after 6 o’clock, pretty well come what may" on the last day of the working week in order to spend time with his family.

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho criticised the Labour leader at the time as unrealistic, adding: "I also think it’s a bit odd, because they’re also saying they want to make people in the NHS work overtime and at weekends, so I think to do that on one hand, and on the other hand say that you’re not going to work past 6pm is a bit tin-eared."

Starmer responded to the claims during the election campaign as "hysterical".