Around the world in 80 days, with Sir ‘Phileas Fogg’ Starmer Esq
Jet-setting PM’s 8 trips to 5 countries in 80 days - plus New York, Samoa, Rio before Christmas
Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2024
What will Starmer’s Climate Change Minister, ‘Greta’ Milliband, say about his 65,000 air miles?
On 22 Sept 2024 Sir Keir Starmer celebrated 80 days in charge of the world’s sixth-largest economy and fourth-largest global exporter. In this short time he has been active internationally and is set to extend his globe-trotting exploits before the end of this year.
Today the Prime Minister jets off to New York, for the United Nations General Assembly. As he does, we look at the PM’s ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ tour, together with the extra trips already lined up.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
Jet-setting Starmer
- Since becoming PM Sir Keir Starmer has made 8 trips to 5 foreign countries
- Only one of the countries he visited is outside the EU
- With his last trip this year he will have made 13 trips in his first 20 weeks
- His global footprint will have covered almost 65,000 air miles
- This is enough to circumnavigate the world more than 2.5 times
[Sources: No.10 and international events cited.]
© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2024 - click to enlarge
So far the Prime Minister has completed eight foreign trips. In all these trips, Sir Keir has visited just one non-EU member country: the United States. Before year-end his schedule will include 5 more trips. This will bring the PM’s tally to 13 foreign trips and 64,713 miles travelled.
‘Phileas’ Starmer versus Phileas Fogg
More than 150 years ago a character conjured up by French writer Jules Verne was famously described in an adventure novel called ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’.
Click to enlarge
The fictional hero was Londoner Phileas J Fogg Esq, a member of the Reform Club, who wagered his fellow members that he could circumnavigate the world in 80 days.
Back in 1872 this was more of a challenge than it is today for Sir Keir Starmer, as long-haul jet airliners were of course unimagined in France during the Third Republic.
Readers familiar with this book may recall how just before leaving, Phileas Fogg replaced his British servant with a Frenchman named Jean Passepartout, whose name literally means ‘goes everywhere’….
At almost 20,000 air miles in his first 80 days in power, Keir Starmer has failed by around 5,000 miles to emulate the character in Jules Verne’s novel, as the earth’s circumference is approximately 25,000 miles. Starmer will, however, more than make up for this in his second 80 days.
Sir Keir is racking up the air miles – what will Ed ‘Greta’ Milliband say?
Before the end of this year the Prime Minister will have covered a grand total of 64,713 miles travelled. This is more than two-and-a-half-times the circumference of the globe.
The Commissar of all things Net Zero for the new Labour government, the climate change minister Ed Milliband, might have something to say about all of this.
In under a week’s time the UK’s last remaining coal-fired power station will be closed. In 12 years the UK will have gone from powering 40% of its electricity production from coal, to zero. Not even ‘Net Zero’, but absolute zero.
With oil and gas production in the North Sea now an endangered species due to Labour’s planned punitive taxes and its refusal to grant new exploration licences, under Ed Milliband the country is racing towards a future reliant on power from sources not yet available and which are unreliable even when they do come on-stream.
Meanwhile the UK will continue to import vast tonnages of products made in countries where coal-fired electricity is not only the norm but is expanding rapidly, such as China and India. In addition the importation of vast quantities of liquefied gas will continue, despite Britain having ample resources of its own which the Government refuses to tap. None of the greenhouse gases emitted by other countries in these import processes will ever be included in the Government’s figures.
Observations
The first striking aspect of Sir Keir Starmer’s foreign itinerary is the way in which he has favoured the EU. To date he has only visited one country outside the EU bloc: the United States. This is entirely in keeping with his frequent rhetoric in his first 80 days about “aligning more closely” with the EU again.
For those of us who hoped the PM might demonstrate the UK’s re-found determination to trade globally, Mr Starmer has not found time to visit the fast-expanding markets being opened up, courtesy of the trade deals the post-Brexit UK has been able to strike such as the CPTPP free trade agreement. Word of this tremendous achievement has barely passed the new Government's lips, as it was all secured under the previous government.
Nor has he shown any enthusiasm for our Commonwealth cousins, although he will have the opportunity to conduct many bi-laterals with the various leaders at the CHOGM Summit being held in Samoa in October.
In reviewing the Prime Minister’s international travel arrangements, perhaps Ed Milliband will ask Rachel Reeves to add a hefty carbon tax to the cost of all flights, when she is putting the final touches to her tax-rise budget at the end of next month. This will not, of course, affect the PM personally as he doesn’t pay for his flights – but then it seems he is accustomed to enjoying ‘freebies’….
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[ Sources: No.10 | Organisations the PM has visited ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 25 Sept 2024
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