Jeremy Clarkson made a surprise appearance at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham yesterday, joining Clarkson’s Farm land agent Charlie Ireland on stage with shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins.
He called the farming year an “absolute disaster,” saying hot weather left them with little more than “three ounces of hen food.” Pressures on ordinary farmers, he argued, are “relentless” - weather, conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, taxes, energy costs - and not every farmer has a quiz show or newspaper column to fall back on.
He criticised the impact of inheritance-tax changes on family farms and asked: “Why would anybody set up a business in this country right now?”
Clarkson also noted his pub’s national-insurance bill has risen by £140,000 in two years, joked that many in the hall had “come dressed as seats,” and said he is looking at opening another pub - just not in the UK.