This is no time for a meeting

Oor Willie

Brown said he was going to New York. Paulson has to be in DC to get his plan through the Senate etc., and he can't leave DC. Didn't it cross Brown's mind that Paulson couldn't drop everything to come to NY to make Brown look good?

Wight Tory

But when he's singing the praises of Obama, is it any wonder that they aren't gonna take part in any back-scratching. Has the poker abilities of a player wearing mirrored lenses...

TPR

Perhaps Paulson has taken umbrage at Brown's telling the British media that he intends to lead the way re. regulation of the global financial markets. After all, if he (Brown) is to be believed, he's been suggesting tighter regulation for some years now but alas his pleas have fallen upon deaf ears.

All in all, sounds like typical Brown: grand rhetoric with little follow-up.

Chuck Unsworth

James you're making the very broad assumption that Brown has any real influence with the City. Quite the reverse, I think.

Paulson is doing exactly what all Americans do - and maybe we should follow his example - he's putting his country's interests ahead of those of others. Naturally he's got his own interests way ahead of that.

Paulson knows also that the City will fall into line - but only if they feel it's in their interests.

Brown simply doesn't get it. The worst thing he could possibly do is to try to lay the law down in the States. They'll have him for breakfast.

TGF UKIP

Paulson, on the other hand, seems to be demonstrating quite excellent judgement of character and economic and financial acumen.

Unfortunately the concomitant of this is that Paulson will be concentrating his efforts largely on Brussels who are positively slavering at the thought of all the chains and shackles they can throw on the capitalist system and particularly on the City of London.

Pete

Maybe they want to make a point! That they have no time, or respect, for Brown and this Labour Government.

Drew

When you consider London's role in the global financial system, three days of ritualised "kill more bankers" rhetoric from the Conference platform seems even more ill-advised.

Brown is playing for time; Paulson is running out of time.

Not a hard decision, I'd venture.

anthony a

I would not be surprised if Paulson would like to meet Brown but simply has no time..

Sean Mac

McBroon must have really p****d off the Americans. All UK taxpayers know how that feels, this total looser of a politician has nowhere to go, maybe he should have got his wife to ask instead???

jules

To be honest, James, I think this has been a long time coming.

With Brown's disregard for Bush and the Republicans and much British Guardianista America-bashing over Iraq, the American backlash was inevitable.

When you write your pieces on the improving situation in Iraq, you omit one casualty of the war: the special relationship between UK and US.

Which is all the more ironic when you now consider the relationship between France and the US. We backed Iraq; France opposed. Now look at France: Sarkozy is more popular there than any of our politicians and according to one of the Telegraph blogs, Bush is more willing to speak to Sarkozy and Merkel than Brown.

Brown needs to go and we need to show the US and Europe that we still have an indpendent streak, and that we do not seek nor need patronage from anyone.

Bluebottle

Looks like it's payback time for the "Obama and the Democrats are wonderful" gaffe.

Republicans still call the shots in Washington. The Dear Leader forgot that.

Get Shorty

They are in frantic negotiations to save Wall Street and you expect him to title tattle with Brown - are you nuts?

maas101

Perhaps it was also ill advised for the head of their closest ally to publicly endorse the democratic candidate.

Or perhaps they are aware that GB has a very limited shelf life.

Frank Pulley

Why should Paulson meet with Brown? The City and the B of E are playing hard to get in the US attempts to avoid complete meltdown of Global capitalism; Brown has made it quite clear that he favours an Obama victory in the Presidential election; his Deputy Harperson also stated that preference on QT on Thursday. It's just another example of the low esteem in which our current establishment are held by our most powerful ally, not to mention the contempt our enemies feel for us - just listen to Armydinnerjacket! Watching the NuLab dog and pony show yesterday, reminiscent of the Soviet charades of yesteryear, must have our enemies rolling in the aisles of the mosques. Just what we need, a lame duck PM and a lame duck President as the money melts and the Iranian rat puts the finishing touches to his nuclear toys. Then we hear tonight that we are going to hand our nuclear power stations over to the surrender monkeys.
Call an election McGurney! We need to officially tell you something. You don't seem to have understood the messages on the grapevine.

mitch

In this case we haven't got what they want which is loads of cash so no meeting also gordon has blamed the yanks at every opportunity for the economic woes of the world would you give him time after badmouthing you for weeks on tv and in print?.

jon dee

In an international crisis protocol and precedent would suggest the US Government recognise the British PM as their closest ally.However since Brown took over his attitude towards the US has been off-hand and downright rude.Add to this the unwise comments about the Presidential election from him and some Ministers and you have a cooling relationship.The snub therefore is not surprising.

Ken

"Say what you like about Brown he is still the British Prime Minister...." wrong Mr Forsyth. This tendentious mouse is a disgrace to a great office of state and a burden on the nation, sane policymakers and leaders are right to ignore a waste of space. The unelected one and his cabinet deserve to sink without trace...

Augustus

I suspect that the 'snub' alluded to in The Telegraph is not so much a reflection on Brown, as the fact that Henry Paulson has yet to obtain the congressional mandate for the 700 billion dollar bailout. They are obviously still trying to get their heads around this latest bout of financial socialism, and so, I shouldn't wonder are the American taxpayers. For it will very likely cost them much more than the 700 billion to get the full measure of the credit markets back on track. Not only is mortgage debt involved, but very possibly also credit card debt, car finances, and real estate loans.

But not to act would in fact cost the country even more, through job losses, complete stagnation of the economy, and the total collapse of house prices. Truly they between a rock and a hard place.

Patrick

Gordon Brown is a toxic Jonah. Meeting him is not going to help sort out the USA's troubles. Paulson's time is much, much more usefully spent rallying Congress. The right decision.

Brown was an epically misguided chancellor and now ranks as the most empty and useless PM since, well, forever. Worse than a novice - as he suffers from the poisonous combination of arrogance and incompetence.

Victoria

Absolutely - in the given crisis, you would expect it to be at the top of his agenda.

Napoleon

"I think Paulson is wrong not to meet with Brown."
I think so too. Which makes me ask if he isn't doing this because Brown and Darling didn't made a bailout plan like the American. If the British government(and other governments) had followed Paulson, the pressure in the American Congress would probably be much less than it is now.

David C

As Brown himself says 'these are serious times' and we need serious people to meet the economic crisis....
and this is not serious, this is screamingly funny.
Brown steps outside the bunker and reality slaps him across the face like a wet codfish.
So much for the giant intellect, respected and consulted world-wide for the depth of his economic understanding and profound insights.
Poltroon.

gepoff

This is a truly funny little article.

He is meeting with President Bush. The fact he isnt meeting with some officials i've never heard of is hardly going to discredit the trip.

But you keep hoping it will - keep hoping...

Dan

Since when does the PM necessarily have to meet the US Treasury Secretary? I thought he/she usually meets the President, not a member of the cabinet.

I would think that Paulson probably has more important things on his plate than meeting with Brown. Poor Paulson is not going to waste any valuable down-time away from the emergency to meet Brown, is he?

Also, do we know for sure whether Brown was snubbed or not?

kinglear

If Brown called me and said he was coming to tell me how to sort out my problems I wouldn't want to meet him either

HJ

James, I would agree with you, except that Paulson clearly feels that there is little point in talking to someone who has no understanding of finance and economics. Paulson clearly has better things to do than to listen to Brown reciting tractor production figures and talking in platitudes - and who can blame him?

This is not to say that Paulson is necessarily doing the right things himself, but I can imagine myself having an intelligent conversation with him about the causes and best course of action in the present situation. Can anyone seriously expect that they could have a similarly intelligent conversation with Brown?

EyeSee

Ill advised? You sure? When Brown rattles on about the 'credit crunch' being an international problem, so not of his making what he is actually saying is, that it is the Americans who have caused all our woes. So why shouldn't the Americans say 'stuff off' to the lying toad from No10? British Prime Minister? If only, Prime Prat more like. Maybe we don't need a novice, but we certainly don't want a proven failure. And nor do the US.

JimBob

Is it any suprise that Paulson doesn't want to talk high level economics with a man who doesn't understand elementary supply and demand?

mitch

When the USA need to know the minute details of some bloke from the 1930s in the labour party I suppose they will call brown....for everything else I think not.

Oscar

Looks like Labour have their standard 7 point bounce after their conference. Of course if you'd told them a year ago that being only 10 points behind on 31% was good news there would have been disbelief. Even so there's been one helluva media operation to get Brown his bounce (despite Kelly the headlines for Brown yesterday were glowing). Things have gone very quiet on the Conservative front and I fear the media are about to stick the boot in/marginalise next week's conference. This in it's own way will be every bit as important for the long term prospects of the Conservatives as last year's conference. At the moment I am apprehensive.

Debs R

Brown is a chap who seems to think that Ruth Kelly has resigned to spend more time with her family. Why would Paulson need to talk to someone of this level catatonia?

Tankus

Pointless talking to Brownies , its just noise about getting on with the job , without actually doing it.

After the UK's 25 ton gold sale for the lowest possible price,(announced beforehand ,just to make completley sure that the market had bottomed out to the max!)..... can any economist mention Browns name without sniggering ?

Waste of an air ticket

Trafalgar

James, Britain is not America's closest ally. That would be Israel.
Augustus, the bailout of $700 billion may not end up costing $700 billion - you are assuming the bad debt is worth $0.
Mitch: LOL

Herbert Thornton

Brown combines the financial shenanigans of the financial houses, whose convoluted and unwise machinations have led to this crisis, with the bloody-minded improvidence of Robert Mugabe, as the example cited by Tankus reminds us. If Paulson were to be perceived as consulting Brown it would lower confidence in the financial system even further.

James Forsyth's piece "Bush's Bailout Plea" mentions Alan Meltzer's plan. It is to be hoped that Congress will adopt it. Britain needs something like it to be applied to Brown's fiscal doings.

Augustus

Trafalgar, I am not able to assume anything, but the bad debts, or interbank losses, if you like could well be much higher than 700 billion. There have been guestimates of 1000, even 1400 billion. Personally I think it certainly could be higher than the 700.