Jeremy Corbyn’s Holiday

Jo Swinson MP, leader of the Liberal Democrats, asserted on the Today programme that the Labour leader had spent two weeks on holiday during the 2016 EU referendum. This claim is false— exaggerating the break that Jeremy Corbyn MP took.

During the leadership contest, Ms Swinson also asserted that “we are only in this mess because Jeremy Corbyn went missing in action in the 2016 campaign and went on holiday”. This claim is dubious, given survey evidence.

A false claim that Mr Corbyn had made 123 media appearances resurfaced. This statement misunderstands a study on media coverage.

How long was the holiday?

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson MP claimed on the Today programme that Jeremy Corbyn MP took two weeks holiday during the 2016 EU referendum. Ms Swinson said:

Let’s remember in the last referendum he went on holiday for two weeks in the middle of it.

On 8th May 2016, an article in The Times stated that the Labour leader was intending to take “almost a week off” during the campaign.

We can look at media appearances by Jeremy Corbyn MP to find an upper bound for this holiday.