Hello. Earlier this week, many Brits got their first introduction to Peppa Pig World. Borisworld is even more special, and it is only in this environment that a speech now labeled after a cartoon character could spark a debate about central government dysfunction. There are still plenty of newspapers reporting on why Downing Street is performing so poorly, and in the Guardian we report the Treasury’s frustrations with No.10’s inept handling of important decisions.
Later Boris Johnson will have the opportunity to reset the narrative in PMQs. He hopes it goes better than last week, which was pretty dismal.
This morning Dominique raab, the justice secretary and deputy prime minister, was defending the prime minister on air and his argument, which was widely described as an amateurish and eccentric speech at the CBI on Monday, was essentially just proof of the Prime Minister’s “Tiggerish” personality. Raab told Times Radio:
The Prime Minister is in great shape …
The Prime Minister is an exuberant, spirited, optimistic, tigger character and he animates his speeches in a way that few politicians past and present have done, but in fact there is steel in him as Prime Minister and makes him his team, and we work as a team.
In an interview with the Today program, where he made a similar point, Raab also said:
We are making this country stronger, better, fairer and [Johnson, in his Peppa Pig speech] wanted to underline the optimism that characterizes this country, both at home and abroad.
Frankly, we are doing too much self-flagellation in Britain. This is in part the result of the Brexit debate. I don’t want to be immersed in all of this. But we have a lot to do for ourselves and I think that is the essence of what this Prime Minister reflects.
David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary accused Raab of having “insulted the information of the people”.
David Lammy
(@DavidLammy)A little embarrassing for the Deputy Prime Minister to have to be trotted to defend @BorisJohnsonincreasingly erratic and chaotic behavior. There is nothing “exuberant” or “Tiggerish” about our Prime Minister in the event of a car accident, @DominicRaab should stop insulting people’s intelligence defend the indefensible
Here is the program for the day.
9:15 am: Senior DWP officials testify before the House of Commons Works and Pensions Committee on Universal Credit.
9:30 am: The Cold Chain Federation, Road Haulage Association and Logistics UK testified before the Commons Transport Committee about the road freight supply chain.
10:30 am: Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Secretary of International Trade, testifies before the House of Commons International Trade Committee about the trade deal with New Zealand.
11am: Northern mayors and council heads hold a public meeting in Leeds to discuss the integrated rail plan.
12h: Boris Johnson takes on Keir Starmer at PMQ.
2 p.m .: Permanent Secretaries to the Cabinet Office, HMRC, Defra and the Department of Transport testify before the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on Brexit and border issues.
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