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Government golden couple take caravan holiday during Parliament recess

It will go down as a year which MPs will never forget. After months of intense scrutiny into the parliamentary expenses system, the majority of ministers will be glad for the traditional 12-week break from the House of Commons.

And it appears that this year a number of them are choosing to stay in Britain. Chief among them is Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who made headlines last month for his choice of the traditional seaside resort of Southwold in Suffolk.

The husband and wife cabinet duo of Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper are similarly staying in Britain for part of their break. Only they have opted to spend their time on a caravan holiday in the Lake District.

The mother and father of three will be taking their family to stay on a caravan owned by the mother of Yvette Cooper. It is an area the couple will have familiarity with, having previously taken a vacation at the Lake District in the caravan.

Both husband and wife hold key positions in the Government. Ed Balls (MP for Normanton) is the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, and is considered a key ally of prime minister Gordon Brown. Meanwhile wife Yvette Cooper (MP for Pontefract and Castleford) was recently promoted to Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and has a strong background in economics.

The couple are holidaying after a period of national outcry into the system of how MPs claim their parliamentary expenses. Both Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper have previously come under scrutiny after allegations that they had repeatedly changed the designation of their second home within two years.

Their home from home for the next week however will be a caravan as they take to the natural beauty of the Lake District. They are of course not the only MPs to be mentioned in association with the vehicle.

Margaret Beckett MP is famous for having been one of the longest serving ministers in government history. Yet she is also regarded for her love of caravanning. With her husband Leo she has taken many trips around Britain in their caravan. Remarkably she continued to do so during her political career, although she was at one point advised to give up holidays in her caravan in 2006 in light of security concerns.

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