Boris Johnson has been criticized by senior business leaders and Conservative MPs for giving a “random” speech to leading industry figures who witnessed him praising Peppa a lot. Pig World, compare yourself to Moses and imitate the noise of a speeding car.
The prime minister’s lengthy speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) was accused of lacking seriousness and professionalism. Johnson lost his place during the speech and spent 20 seconds repeating “forgive me” as he shuffled the printed pages on his podium.
Some hoped the speech would be an opportunity for Johnson to announce the appropriate policy in pursuing his “upgrade” agenda. However, the speech at the port of Tyne near South Shields only announced changes to building regulations to ensure all new homes and buildings in the UK are fitted with electric vehicle charging points from the year onwards. after.
One of Johnson’s longer pieces of content is about his recent trip to Peppa Pig World in Hampshire – an amusement park dedicated to a children’s cartoon character, which he selected during a research study. research is evident at civil servants and the BBC.
He said that “the real driver of growth is not the government”, but the private sector, where the prime minister has praised energy and originality. To illustrate this, he explains: “Yesterday, I, like all of us, went to Peppa Pig World. Hurry up if you’ve been to Peppa Pig World!
Peppa Pig World is my place .”
Johnson explained that the “real lesson” he learned during the visit was that the popularity of the protagonist – who he said resembles a “Picasso-like hair dryer” – is proof of the “light power of of Great Britain”. Johnson said the TV show “was rejected by the BBC and has now been exported to 180 countries” and is now worth £6 billion. “I think it’s pure genius, right? No government in the world, no Whitehall civil servant, could envision Peppa. “
Johnson also mimics the sound of a speeding car with grunts that the official Downing Street release is transliterated as “arum arum aaaaaaaaag”. He also compared himself to Moses on his plan to help businesses invest in tackling climate change. The Prime Minister said: “I have told my officials the new 10 commandments are ‘You must develop industries such as offshore wind, hydrogen, nuclear power and carbon capture.’
However, senior business figures and some Tory MPs were less than impressed. One senior supporter said it was a “mess”, while another told the Guardian: “I think today’s performance was the most embarrassing for a Conservative prime minister since. the PMQs last week. Someone needs to take hold. He is losing the trust of the party.”
Juergen Maier, vice president of the Northern Association of Factories and a former Siemens executive, told the Guardian it was a “failure speech”. He said the speech was a “huge opportunity” after there were no details of a promotion in recent months.
But he said: “It was a failure. It’s a rambling. There were a lot of disjointed initiatives, some of which were clearly unrelated… As an entrepreneur passionate about re-industrializing the North, it was just a huge disappointment.”
Kitty Ussher, of the Institute of Directors of the business leaders group, said Johnson’s speech was less inspiring in confidence and was “out of place” in places. “What business leaders want above all else is a calm and reassuring macroeconomic environment that gives them confidence to invest in the future. We didn’t see much of that in the prime minister’s speech report. ”
Two other business figures present in the auditorium for the speech said they were surprised by Johnson’s promotion of Peppa Pig World, which is more than 300 miles from Tyne Harbor where the speech took place.
“It was interesting when he asked a group of business leaders in the northeast if they had taken the six-hour drive to Peppa Pig World and then talked about the promotion,” said Michael Stirrup, managing director. said by the IT consulting firm Waterstons. “I think it shows a bit of a lack of understanding.”
“I wasn’t expecting a Peppa Pig reference,” said Neil Whittaker, director of marketing and communications for national training company Learning Curve Group. “He seems to have lost his way a little bit.”
The GMB union described the speech as a “hogwash”.
Labor called it “astonishing thing” and was proof of how extraordinary Johnson’s business was. Shadow Premier, Rachel Reeves, commented: “Nobody laughed, because the joke wasn’t funny anymore.”
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said businesses needed clarity, but all they got was “roaming” from Johnson. He added: “The Prime Minister famously said he would do ‘F’ business – the least he could do was make a decent F-ing speech.”
The Prime Minister reportedly said in 2018 “damn business” when asked about industry concerns over a no-deal Brexit.
After the speech, Johnson was asked by a journalist if he was okay. The Prime Minister defended his performance, saying: “I think people have taken most of the points I wanted to give, and I think it went well.”
