Brown gets no comfort from Obama

Gordon Brown’s apparently irrevocable downward slide is unlikely to be reversed by the grinning presence of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, who visits the Prime Minister in London tomorrow. What might have given Brown a little bounce, or at least a sliver of reflected glory, would have been a snap of himself with the Illinois senator outside Downing Street. But even this is not going to happen because Brown did not extend that courtesy to Senator John McCain when he visited in May.

Even worse, there will ne no joint press conference – always a chance to publically back-rub and josh – for the same reason. Instead, Obama will pose for a few dullish snaps inside Downing Street and then he will come out and deliver a speech to the journalists gathered outside.

Brown’s chinwag with the Illinois senator will be sandwiched between a meeting with Tony Blair, who is reckoned to enjoy far greater recognition and warmth of feeling than Brown in the US, and David Cameron. Keen to play down the latter meeting, Downing Street are said to have raised objections to the Tory leader’s request to be photographed with Obama walking towards the Houses of Parliament, something they both would have relished. However, as with McCain/Brown the Conservatives have had to stick with “protocol parity”, so Cameron will be pictured with Obama in the less potent New Palace Yard at Westminster.