So are we saying that Blair should travel Easyjet on all official business like the upcoming G8 summit at Genoa?
Why stop there? Why not let the Prime Ministerial travel contract go to the lowest bidder? We could hire that old Aztec that's on its last legs at the back of the flying club. After all Tone's only Prime Minister so he's not really representing the country.
I can just see the ramp at Genoa... the aircraft of the leaders of the World's largest economies lined up in order of size...
Number 1, Air Force One, Boeing 747-400
Number 2, Japan One, Boeing 747
Number 3, Germany One, Airbus A330
Number 4, G-ABCD, Piper PA23-250 "sorry Prime Minister, you can only bring 30lbs of baggage or we can't go full tanks...."
A great flag-flying exercise that would be.
Methinks some people in the press are letting their political views override rational thought here. Yes, we are a constitutional monarchy. That makes Blair, as Prime Minister our senior politicial decision-maker (however couched in the terms of 'advising the Monarch' that his job definition is). This means that he represents the country all the time, whether he is on official business or not, and therefore should travel in a style that befits his role and the size and importance of Britain on the world stage.
[ 20 July 2001: Message edited by: foghorn ]