Briton Johnson tries to woo business, praises Peppa Pig | Top stories

LONDON – Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday pledged to champion a green industrial revolution for Britain – and hailed preschool favorite Peppa Pig as an inspiring role model for the UK economy.

Johnson told a Confederation of British Industry business group conference that investing in new green technologies and redistributing wealth and industry away from the rich in south-east England could make the UK economy “the biggest and most prosperous” in Europe.

The government faces widespread skepticism from a business sector that has largely opposed Brexit, a cause championed by Johnson. Many British companies have argued that leaving the European Union would make trading relations with the bloc of 27 nations, Britain’s largest trading partner, more difficult.

This has turned out to be true: UK-EU trade in goods and services has plummeted since the final split at the end of 2020, although part of the disruption may be due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Johnson’s relations with the business community have been strained since it was widely reported that he used a loud and contemptuous curse on business during Britain’s exit negotiations from the EU.

He insisted on Monday that “I have never been more than the # 1 fan in the business world”.

CBI chief executive Tony Danker said businesses welcome the government’s commitment to economic growth, but need to see “the details and the delivery.”

In a rambling speech in which he also quoted Lenin and referred to the biblical story of Moses, Johnson recounted his Sunday visit to Peppa Pig World, a theme park in the New Forest area in southern L ‘England, dedicated to the animated character. Johnson and his wife Carrie have 19-month-old son Wilfred.

Johnson said Peppa Pig was a symbol of “the power of British creativity”.

“Who would have thought that a pig that looks like… some sort of Picasso-style hair dryer, a pig that was rejected by the BBC, would now be exported to 180 countries, with theme parks both in America and in China as well as in the New Forest, ”he said.

“I think it’s pure genius.”