Clarkson accuses Labour of 'ethnically cleansing' countryside with Budget 'making farming nigh on impossible'

9 November 2024, 10:48 | Updated: 9 November 2024, 10:59

Jeremy Clarkson has hit out at Labour's inheritance tax rules for land owners, accusing Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves of 'ethnically cleansing' the countryside of farmers.

A furious Clarkson has claimed the new tax rules "make farming nigh on impossible", adding that Reeves' plans are the equivalent of taking "a machine gun" to land owners.

The presenter had previously labelled Labour's plans to hike inheritance tax for land owners, as announced in the recent Budget, "all out-war on the countryside".

"The truth is, there are no farmers who are happy with what Reeves and her politburo have done," Clarkson wrote as part of his column in The Sun on Saturday.

"And when you see what happens to the countryside and the cost of your food, you won’t be happy either."

It comes amid claims demonstrations planned by the National Farmers Union (NFU) to protest the plans were cancelled after organisers were forced to restrict numbers to 1,800 for “legal reasons”.

Read more: Jeremy Clarkson and Kirstie Allsopp lead fury as farmers 'shafted' with inheritance tax raid

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Around 10,000 farmers were initially scheduled to attend the event, which has since been ditched in favour of an independent rally, We Just Want to Feed You, which will take place on London on November 19.

Clarkson added that he has now booked a coach to ferry farmers from the Cotswolds to the independent London protest.

Writing on Saturday, the farm owner added such restrictions are not applied to other protests and rallies, including Pride, Just Stop Oil demonstrations and pro-Palestine rallies.

The Metropolitan Police have since refuted claims made by Clarkson that they had shut down the initial protest, stressing the force “has not banned anyone from marching on this date” and officers “will work with anyone wishing to organise a peaceful protest”.

Hitting out at "Stupid far-left agitators", the presenter-turned-farmer noted his plans to attend the November 19 march in central London.

"I’ve never been on a protest before but I’ll be there, and I’ll lay on a coach so that my neighbours can come too," wrote Clarkson in The Sun. "Why? Because what’s happening is serious."

"Stupid far-left agitators have got it into their heads that the countryside these days is mostly owned by people like me who bought farms to avoid paying inheritance tax.

"I daresay Rachel Reeves, who’s from Lewisham, shares this view," wrote Clarkson.

"Basically, why didn’t she use a sniper’s rifle to take out the wealthy land owners? I wouldn’t have liked it very much, but I would have understood.

"She’s an admirer of communism and that’s the sort of thing communists do," Clarkson wrote.

"But she didn’t use a sniper’s rifle. She used a blunderbuss... It wasn’t even a blunderbuss. It was a machine gun."

Explaining "the one thing farmers don’t have is spare cash lying around", the farmer - and owner of Diddly Squat Farm - claimed the farmers wanted to protest in a "sensible way".

"Which was why I had booked the coach rather than causing disruption with tractors and farming vehicles,” said Clarkson.

"It’s OK for the Labour Party," he wrote, "they’re all in Kentish Town, living on a diet of quinoa."

"They’re even telling us now it’s more environmentally friendly to import an avocado from Ecuador than it is to eat beef from a cow that lived at the bottom of your garden.

"That’s a lie. And I know it’s a lie because a Labour politician said it," Clarkson continued.

"I’m becoming more and more convinced that Starmer and Reeves have a sinister plan.

"They want to carpet bomb our farmland with new towns for immigrants and net zero windfarms.

"But before they can do that, they have to ethnically cleanse the countryside of farmers.

Clarkson previously said: “Perhaps if I had draped my tractor in a Palestinian flag it would be different. It seems that if you are from Just Stop Oil or protesting about Gaza, you can do what you want.

“But farmers are treated differently by a government that is waging an all out-war on the countryside."

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Following claimed NFU organisers had been told to restrict numbers, a spokesman for the Met said: “We are aware that there are a number of events being planned currently in relation to the recent Budget announcements affecting farmers.

"The National Farmers’ Union have emphasised that their event at a conference centre in Westminster on Nov 19 will not be a protest.

"This is not on advice from the Metropolitan Police, and at no point have we banned anyone from marching on this date.”

In a message penned to its 55,000 members, the union strongly urged those who have not registered to stay away from the capital.

“There are legal issues which mean we can’t simply turn up in numbers in Westminster on the streets or the open spaces.

"We cannot risk either member or public safety, or the loss of public support that could come from what could be an illegal demonstration,” the letter said.

“But far more than 1,800 NFU members want their voice to be heard – and rightly.

"The level of anger in the industry may never have been so high. So whilst our mass lobby event is at capacity and we are asking members who have not registered not to do so now, we want this to be the first event, not the only event, where you can be heard.”

The group said it was hoping to see more than 10,000 people protest in London on November 19.

Farmers are not being encouraged to bring their tractors to London, unlike similar protests that took place last year.

Mr Bailye said: “We might have some tractors there, but the idea is not to bring the city to a halt.”

A separate protest has since been organised on the same day.

Clive Bailye, the founder of The Farming Forum, claimed he and several other farmers have gained permission from the Met to hold a demonstration around Westminster.