‘Farmers – I know you have been shafted today’
Jeremy Clarkson has accused the government of ‘shafting’ farmers with the Budget, which he has labelled “hopeless.”
On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the first Labour Budget in 14 years as the government fully set out its plans for the economy following their landslide general election victory in the summer.
Along with a £40bn increase in tax, Reeves announced an increase to the national minimum wage, a tax on vapes, the introduction of VAT on private school fees and a freeze on fuel duty.
But it was on the subject of farming that Clarkson was most keen to hear what the government had planned.
In recent years, the former Top Gear host has become an outspoken advocate for the farming industry thanks to his Amazon Prime series ‘Clarkson’s Farm.’
As part of the Budget, the Chancellor announced £5bn for England’s farming budget over the next two years. This will maintain the £2.4 billion current level for 2024/25 and 2025/26, whilst this year also includes a £200m underspend on previous years.
Reeves also confirmed inheritance tax would now be applied to family farms.
Clarkson was quick to take to social media to give his feelings on the Budget.
In a post on X, he simply wrote: “Rachel Reeves. I literally daren’t comment.”
Responding to an American who asked what the post was about, Clarkson said: “We have a new government. It’s turning out to be hopeless.”
He followed this up with another post, in which he said farmers had been “shafted” and urged them not to despair.
He wrote: “Farmers. I know that you have been shafted today. But please don’t despair. Just look after yourselves for five short years and this shower will be gone.”
Clarkson has made no secret of the fact that he doesn’t like this Labour government. When he opened his pub earlier this year, he said Prime Minister Keir Starmer was banned from his establishment.
Speaking to Times Radio at the time, Clarkson said Sir Keir “hasn’t done much to endear himself to me yet.”
Ever since purchasing Diddly Squat farm and making his hit Prime series, the 64-year-old has been a vocal supporter of farmers, and has often highlighted how difficult the industry is.
Before this year’s general election, Clarkson wrote an article for the Sun in which he criticised Labour for their position on farming. Clarkson claimed the party’s manifesto contained just 87 words on the subject “which, when translated into English basically say: ‘We hate you, you meat-eating rural halfwits’.”
In his interview with Times Radio, he slammed the Labour party as being too London-centric, saying that he doesn’t think ” any of them have set foot outside Kentish Town for the last 35 years.”
But, he left the door open for Starmer to try and convince him other wise, saying that things “might turn around, you never know.”
