Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Apr 21, 2025

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.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Prince Andrew Joins Royal Family Attends Easter Sunday Service at Windsor Castle
Saudi Arabia Offers Max Verstappen Unprecedented Deal to Join Aston Martin
Global Pistachio Shortage Amid Rising Demand for 'Dubai Chocolate'
Trump is assembling a coalition of Western leaders aligned with the MAGA vision, strengthening a unified front for global change
IMF Predicts No Global Recession Amid Trade Tensions
Here’s a police officer with a brilliant gift for swift education
"Some complain that we put thousands in prison. In reality, we set millions free."
This is Vienna, Austria in 2025.
Boeing Jet Returns to US from China Amid Tariff War
Canadian Federal Election: Candidates' Positions on US-Canada Relations and Donald Trump
Resentencing Hearing for Menendez Brothers Who Killed Their Parents Delayed Amid Legal Disputes
Australian Woman Gives Birth To Stranger's Baby In IVF Mix-up
US Sets Deadline for Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Brokerage
Italy Introduces 'Sex Rooms' in Prisons for Inmates
California Launches Legal Challenge Against Trump Administration's Tariffs
"Groundless": China Dismisses Zelensky's Claims It's Supplying Arms To Russia
UK Psytrance Festival Cancelled Amid Local Protests Over Noise Concerns
French Far-Right Writer Renaud Camus Denied Entry to UK
UK Police Force Updates Search Policy for Trans Individuals in Custody
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Meets with Donald Trump to Discuss EU-US Trade Tensions
Canada's Federal Party Leaders Engage in Final Debate Ahead of General Election
Ukraine and US Sign Outline of Minerals Deal
Fast Food Chain Refuses to Apologize for Online Comment About Katy Perry's Space Voyage
New York Attorney General Letitia James Faces Criminal Referral for Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Mark Cuban admits support for Trump executive order: ‘Gotta be honest’
US Senator Meets with Deported Immigrant in El Salvador Amid Custody Dispute
U.S. State Department Raises El Salvador’s Safety Ranking, Making It Safer Than France and Other European Nations
UK Government Assumes Control of British Steel's Scunthorpe Plant Amid Shutdown Threat
UK MP Wera Hobhouse Denied Entry to Hong Kong During Family Visit
Bangladesh Issues Arrest Warrant for UK MP Tulip Siddiq
China Urges United States to Cancel Tariffs Amid Escalating Trade Tensions
The Empire’s USD Pyramid Scheme Is Working Brilliantly—So Why ‘Fix’ It?
China Raises Tariffs on U.S. Goods to 125% Amid Escalating Trade Dispute
Elon Musk Reports $150 Billion in Projected Government Savings Amid Fraud Investigations
U.S. and Panama Finalize Defense Agreements Amid Canal Access and Chinese Influence Concerns
China Stands Firm Amidst Trade Disputes with the US: A Factual Analysis
U.S. Tariff Escalation Sparks Global Trade Tensions
Helicopter crashes in NYC with four people on board.
Australia Dismisses China's Suggestion to Collaborate Against US Tariffs
EU Postpones Response to US Tariffs
The Trump Administration is contemplating removing Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.
Violent Incidents and Public Safety Concerns Escalate in London and County Durham
UK MP Arrested on Suspicion of Rape and Child Sex Offences
UK Gears Up to Respond to US Tariffs with Industrial Strategies and Trade Initiatives
‘Rocky’ star Dolph Lundgren and his wife Emma Krokdal bask in the Miami sunshine following the actor’s lengthy health struggles.
Spain Encounters Countrywide Protests as Housing Crisis Intensifies
Alisha Lehmann's Modeling Campaign and Public Controversy Stir Debate Ahead of UEFA Women's Euro
U.S. Firms with Major International Revenue Exposure in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Calls on the Federal Reserve to Reduce Interest Rates in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Prolongs TikTok Sale Deadline by 75 Days
×