Britain’s Boris Johnson faces a rebellion over his leadership
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Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was in Newcastle upon Tyne on November 22nd.
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LONDON — You know a prime minister has caused a stir when a journalist has to ask: “Is everything OK?”
That’s what Boris Johnson, U.K. leader, did on Monday when he addressed the CBI (the largest industry lobby in the U.K.).
An ITV News journalist asked Johnson about his speech. It was a long, rambling, and sometimes disorganized speech by Johnson. He awkwardly scanned through his notes mid-sentence after seeming to have lost his way. Then he went off on a tangent regarding the virtues Peppa Pig World.
Johnson shared his experience with business leaders attending the Confederation of British Industry conference. He said that he’d been to Peppa Pig, a theme park based on the internationally successful children’s television show. It was “very much my type of place.”
Are you a Peppa Pig World veteran?
Downing Street published a transcript of Johnson’s speech on Tuesday. This showed the prime minister trying to demonstrate that British business has the “ingenious power” to create world-famous products like Peppapig.
“I was compelled to go to Peppa Pig World. Do you know anyone who has been to Peppa Pig World? Johnson asked them and noted their reaction that they were “not enough.”
Peppa Pig World is a place I was not sure what to expect, but I absolutely loved it. Peppa Pig World was a great place. There were safe streets. Schools should be disciplined. There is a lot of emphasis placed on the development and operation of mass transit, as I observed. To laughters from the audience, he admitted that they may be a bit stereotyped about Daddy Pig.
But the most important lesson that I learned from Peppa Pig World is about U.K. creativity. Tony wouldn’t have believed that a peppapig with a haircut, or perhaps a Picasso-like haircut, could be made into a hairdryer. A BBC rejected pig would soon be exportable to 180 other countries. With theme parks both in America and in China as well as in the New Forest,” Johnson said, noting that the business was worth at least £6 billion ($8 billion) to the U.K.
The photo was taken January 21st 2019, and shows two women passing a Peppa Pig poster at a Beijing theatre.
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You think it’s genius? Johnson claimed that Peppa could not have been invented by any government or Whitehall civil servant.
The British prime minister is well-known for his often eccentric wit and, some would say, fondness for a publicity stunt — Johnson dangling from a zip wire during the 2012 London Olympics being one unforgettable example.
The British media and politicians were both amused by the Peppa Pig tangent and the fact that he lost his notes.
Take control of your power
A senior Downing Street source quoted by Daily Mail called Johnson’s speech “shambolic”. While one minister told the City A.M. paper that the speech was “appalling” and reminiscent of the bumbling TV character Mr. Bean.
Guardian newspaper of left leaning described Johnson’s speech as “bizarre” and noted that the speech added to Johnson’s growing frustration over Johnson’s grip on power.
The paper noted that senior lawmakers are increasingly worried about the prime minister’s “competence and drive after he gave a rambling speech to business leaders and was accused of losing his grip over a series of key policies from social care to rail.”
Johnson’s gaffe in the CBI conference speech is just one of many incidents that have plagued the office of the prime minister over the past week. Proposed reforms to the country’s Social Care provision were also heavily criticized. A decision to scale back rail infrastructure upgrades that were originally planned for north England has been also criticized.
Additionally, as thousands attempt to cross the English Channel in their small boats to get to Britain, the promise by the government to “get back the control” of immigration is becoming increasingly hollow.
Johnson’s handling of the “sleaze” dispute surrounding MPs has come under scrutiny as well. Johnson is also being criticized for not allowing them to take on second jobs.
He bowed to pressure last week by proposing that lawmakers should be banned from acting as “paid political consultants or lobbyists” but his handling of the situation, and his climbdown over the matter, has added to ennui over his leadership.
Johnson’s approval ratings are down since last summer. The latest reading of a monthly YouGov pollA survey of British adults revealed that 64% believed Johnson was doing “badly” as Prime Minister, while 29% thought he did well. 7% didn’t even know.
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