Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Pass the sherry, hold the politics: How Britain’s political families are spending Christmas

Pass the sherry, hold the politics: How Britain’s political families are spending Christmas

How Westminster’s top political families get festive.

For some Brits, politics runs in the family. But what do members of the U.K.’s political dynasties get up to when the rest of us are tucking into our turkey? POLITICO prodded key Westminster figures whose family ties mean they won’t quite be getting a break from politics and asked them how they’re spending the festive season.


Victoria Prentis and Tim Boswell


Britain’s Attorney General Victoria Prentis is the daughter of Tim Boswell, a member of the House of Lords and former Conservative MP for Daventry. 

They say never work with children or animals, but Christmas Eve for their family involves a nativity play in the local church featuring a real baby (at least three were due to share the role this year) plus live animals including donkeys, sheep — and dogs dressed as sheep. King Herod is usually played by Prentis’ MP predecessor Tony Baldry.

Christmas Day is at the Boswell house, and Prentis will this year be joined by Ukrainian refugee Vika, with mum and dad also paying a visit. As a farming family, Prentis says it is “all about the food.” That doesn’t mean politics is off the menu — and Boswell’s three-year-old granddaughter once returned from nursery surprised that none of the other kids wanted to have political chat with her. “We recently realised just how much my dad talks politics to his granddaughters,” Prentis said.


Rachel and Ellie Reeves


Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and her sister Ellie, who serves as the opposition party’s shadow justice minister, are planning to celebrate Christmas together on Boxing Day. “Rachel’s a very good cook and will be making beef in a stilton and port gravy and Christmas cake,” Ellie reveals, although she admits there is “absolutely no chance my kids will eat that as it’s not beige.” 

And then comes the crucial stuff. “I will bring wine. Lots of it. It’s then party games for the kids — musical statues, pin the tail on the unicorn and anything else they insist on!” As for chat about the state of the nation? “I think we’re all agreed there will definitely be no talking about politics,” Ellie adds. Rachel agrees: “One year we discussed Brexit on Boxing Day — we shan’t be doing that again!”


Fay and Gwilym Jones


Conservative whip Fay Jones is daughter of the former Wales Minister Gwilym Jones.

Christmas will be spent together, along with Fay’s brother — although this year will, she said, be strange as the first without her mum who passed away earlier this year.

The Cardiff Blues versus Newport Dragons Rugby match is high on the Jones agenda for Boxing Day, something Fay says will be a “good laugh” even if it is “always chuffing cold.” On the 27th, the whole extended family will get together to watch the Welsh grand national, with her uncle running a sweepstake at which the kids in the family usually clean up.

“We never really stop chatting politics so I’m sure Christmas won’t be an exception,” Jones says. “My boyfriend and my brother will duck out and put the cricket on while my dad gives me ‘sage advice’ from his time in parliament. In return, I try to explain to dad that things are slightly different now — he didn’t have emails or social media back in his day.” Lucky man.


David and Oliver Mundell


Former Conservative Scottish Secretary David Mundell’s son Oliver became a member of the Scottish parliament in 2016.

They spent the festive season together last year so won’t spend Christmas Day and Boxing Day together this year. But David says he hopes to have started a new tradition after already making a Mary Berry Christmas pudding with Oliver’s young daughters.

Christmas traditions include a candlelit carol service on Christmas Eve at Wamphray Parish Church, in what David described as a “beautiful glen setting” and making a trifle to the exact recipe of David’s late aunt. “Key is plenty of sherry so [the] base is actually liquid,” David says.

As for political chat around the Christmas table? “My mother ran a small hotel for over 20 years. She had a rule in the bar of no politics, religion or four-letter words! We try our best to stick to that whenever we can all be round the dinner table together,” David says.


Tom and Bill Newton Dunn


TalkTV host and Executive Editor Tom Newton Dunn was spending Christmas at his ex-MEP dad Bill’s house in Richmond. 

“Politics seldom comes up,” Tom says, although he says this is “not by decree” but because they are “all happy to have a bit of a break from it.”

Instead, Tom says that with three generations of fervent Gunners present, the debate usually “rages furiously between my father, me and my two sons over whether Arsenal need to buy another striker in the January transfer window.”


Nick and Robbie Gibb


Long serving Schools Minister Nick Gibb is the brother of former Downing Street comms chief-turned-BBC board member Robbie. The pair were due to gather for a meat-free Christmas dinner (Nick is a vegetarian and his husband Michael is vegan) — but only after Robbie’s family have tucked into turkey and all the trimmings for lunch earlier in the day.

Robbie says the latest Westminster shenanigans are unlikely to feature in the Christmas day discourse. “We don’t discuss politics in the family at the best of times, and rarely at Christmas.”

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×