Theme park's delight at PM's praise for Peppa Pig World
Boris Johnson mentioned Peppa Pig while stumbling through a major speech
Last updated 23rd Nov 2021
Boris Johnson enthused about a visit to Peppa Pig World and pretended to be a speeding car during an occasionally baffling speech to business chiefs.
The Prime Minister - who also made a passing comparison between himself and Moses - trekked to South Shields to explain his new-found enthusiasm for wind power.
But like many parents of toddlers, Mr Johnson's mind may not have been as focused on the task in hand as he might have liked.
Rather than spending hours in No 10 or Chequers putting a final polish on his big speech to the Confederation of British Industry, Mr Johnson spent Sunday at Paultons Park theme park near Romsey.
Mr Johnson described Peppa Pig as "pure genius", despite resembling a "Picasso-like hairdryer", with the show a ÂŁ6 billion massive global success story.
"I was a bit hazy what I would find at Peppa Pig World but I loved it. Peppa Pig World is very much my kind of place," Mr Johnson said about his day out at the Hampshire attraction.
"It has very safe streets, discipline in schools, a heavy emphasis in new mass transit systems, I noticed, even if they are a bit stereotypical about Daddy Pig."
Praising the ingenuity of the private sector, Mr Johnson said "no Whitehall civil servant could conceivably have come up with Peppa".
Following the speech in South Shields, Mr Johnson was asked: "Is everything OK?"
He told ITV: "I think that people got the vast majority of the points I wanted to make and I thought it went over well."
But Labour mocked Mr Johnson online, saying "the joke's not funny any more", while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "Businesses are crying out for clarity. Instead, all they got was Boris Johnson rambling on about Peppa Pig.
"It is a perfect metaphor for Johnson's chaotic, incompetent Government as it trashes our economy, but it is not worthy of a British Prime Minister."
James Mancey, operations director at Paultons Park, said the attraction was "delighted" Mr Johnson attended on Sunday.
He said in a statement: "We are delighted that the Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, chose to visit Paultons Park yesterday to enjoy valuable family time with his wife and son at Peppa Pig World, one of the five themed lands at Paultons Park.
"As the nature of Mr Johnson's visit was a personal one, we are unable to provide any specific details of the family's visit. However, we did have an opportunity to speak to the family before they left, when Mr Johnson and his wife were highly complimentary about their experience and expressed their wish to return as a family to Paultons Park in future.
"The fact that Mr Johnson has chosen to speak at length about his visit during today's CBI conference, positively endorsing the creativity and innovation showcased by Peppa Pig World and encouraging others to visit, is testament to the hard work of everyone at Paultons Park who create the wonderful experience our millions of guests enjoy each year."