Politics

Jeremy Clarkson 'would be welcome in the Tory party', according to MP

Jeremy Clarkson 'would be welcome in the Tory party', according to MP
Jeremy Clarkson in heated debate at farmers' protest with BBC's Victoria Derbyshire
BBC News

Jeremy Clarkson would be ‘welcome in the Tory party’ according to MP Kevin Hollinrake, who was speaking after the former Top Gear star attended protests against changes to agricultural inheritance tax.

Clarkson has become the most high-profile figure involved in the recent protests after being quizzed on comments he made on inheritance tax back in 2021 in a fiery exchange with BBC reporter Victoria Derbyshire earlier this week.

Clarkson, who is the star of Clarkson’s Farm and bought his Diddly Squat Farm in 2008, has been a vocal critic of the Labour government’s proposed inheritance tax hikes.

Some people have speculated about a possible political career for Clarkson – even though Clarkson has admitted himself he would be a “terrible political leader” in an interview with The Times.

However, Conservative MP Hollinrake appeared on LBC and was asked if he’d welcome the broadcaster in his party – and he said he “very much would”.

Clarkson recently told The Times: “I’d be a terrible political leader, hopeless. I’m a journalist at heart, I prefer throwing rocks at people than having them thrown at me.”

In the same interview he called Starmer a "nightmare for farmers" and claimed that he "doesn’t know what farming is".

Clarkson joined more than 10,000 farmers in London on Tuesday, November 19. There he was asked about previous comments from a 2021 interview with The Times during his appearance supporting protestors.

During that 2021 interview Clarkson said that avoiding inheritance tax was “the critical thing” in his decision to buy land.

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