Gordon Brown Embarks on Five Day World Tour - and Hopes for a Shift in Fortune

As the weather takes a distinctly chilly turn in Britain, and the economic news worsens by the hour, Gordon Brown has decided to revive his fortunes by embarking on a five day world tour.

Even before he flew out of Heathrow just before noon yesterday on a chartered BA Boeing 747 for the short hop to Strasbourg -- likely to be remembered as one of the world's least environmentally friendly flights -- the Tories were taking a pop.

"At a time when Britain is deep in recession, with more than 2m people unemployed, Gordon Brown is once again jetting off out of the country to try to save the world," the shadow foreign Keith Simpson moaned in the FT.

The sight of Brown jetting across the world at such a grim moment for the economy revives once again that old chestnut of a debate: is it right for prime ministers to charter a plane at the taxpayers' expense and turn it into a personal global taxi?

The destinations on this tour will no doubt provide plenty of fuel for the critics. They'll skirt over Brown's four hour trip to Strasbourg yesterday where he delivered his first speech to the European parliament. That is a duty trip performed by prime ministers.

The fun started for the critics early this morning when the prime minister flew into New York just before 1.00am London time. He will spend today there wooing business and financial leaders.

If the critics struggle to land a blow, as Brown takes part in an earnest debate this morning with the Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thompson, then they will be salivating at the next stage of his trip: Brazil where the temperature is in the late 20s and 30s.

And then towards the end of the week it will be down to Chile for the Progressive Governance conference which is to be attended by the US Vice President Joe Biden. The temperature in Chile is comfortably into the early 30s, though it chills to the late teens at night. Haiwaian shirts must be the order of the day, the critics will no doubt be hoping.

So are the critics right? Does the trip show that the prime minister is painfully out of touch? Is he falling into the same trap as Jim Callaghan who famously returned to Britain from a meeting of the group that has grown into G8 on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe to declare: crisis what crisis? (Callaghan of course did not utter those words but his seeming indifference to the financial crisis at home gave headline writers a field day.)

It takes a truly impartial witness to offer a judgment on the merits of prime ministerial travel. As a member of the parliamentary lobby I have accompanied Brown -- and before him Tony Blair -- on numerous trips. On this five day Transatlantic odyssey I have a seat in economy at the back of the prime minister's plane paid for by the Guardian.

On balance I think the trips are worth the expense. One simple example shows how useful they can be in projecting British interests abroad. In July 2003 Tony Blair embarked on a round-the-world tour that was overshadowed by the death of the government scientist Dr David Kelly.

This meant that a crucial moment during the trip, during a two day visit to China, was largely overlooked by the media. British insurers had desperately been trying to secure a license to operate in China's multi-billion pound insurance market which was dominated by US insurers. Blair's presence in China prompted the Chinese to grant the license, opening up a lucrative market to British insurers.

There will be less emphasis on bilateral trade on Brown's trip. The focus will instead be on the global financial crisis and the G20 summit, to be chaired by Brown in London next week.

The prime minister hopes to shape the debate by courting highly influential people in North and South America. After his appearance with the Wall Street Journal editor this morning the prime minister will appear on a platform alongside Paul Volcker, the octogenarian former chairman of the Fed, and Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state, at a seminar at New York University. Volcker is an eminent figure who has the ear of Barack Obama. Albright has the ear of Hillary Clinton.

But Brown does not just have his eye on the US. In Brazil he will President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, the former trade union leader, who presided over a boom until his country was hit by the worldwide financial crisis. Lula is one of the most influential leaders of the so called Bric giant emerging countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- whose voice will count at the G20 summit. Finding common ground with Lula will help oil the wheels of the summit next week.

Opposition politicians will carp about the prime minister's trip -- and then embark on similar adventures when they are ministers.

Perhaps they might bear in mind the words of Margaret Thatcher when she first visited Sao Paulo, Brazil's industrial powerhouse, after she left office. "Why did no one tell me about this place," she is said to have asked Sir Peter Heap, the British ambassador, as she expressed amazement at its vitality. "We did," he replied.