Farming is becoming part of the national political conversation for the first time in decades, Brexit leader Nigel Farage said. Clarkson’s Farm A presenter to get the nation thinking about the countryside.
“Agriculture has become an increasingly political issue in recent years, not just because of Brexit but also because of the success of British farming television shows,” Brexit leader Nigel Farage said Thursday, speaking at a rally in Cheshire, England. Clarkson’s Farm.
Veteran TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson Top Gear and The Grand Tour Mr Farage said: “Frankly we have to thank Jeremy Clarkson for raising the profile of farming in this country. Well done, he’s getting people to think, he’s getting people to talk about rural issues and he’s making people laugh at the fact that he finds it so hard. That’s what makes the show good.”
Agriculture has not been a subject of national political debate for decades because, when the UK was part of the European Union, agricultural policy was largely dictated from Brussels. He said: “For half a century we have never debated agricultural policy because there was no need to. UK agricultural policy is made in Brussels. The UK is a member of the Common Agricultural Policy and therefore agriculture has never been an election issue because, frankly, it was not something the UK government had any say in or power over. But agriculture has become an increasingly big political issue.”
BOURTON-ON-THE-WATER, UNITED KINGDOM – NOVEMBER 25: Jeremy Clarkson attends the Hawkstone Lager launch event in Bourton-on-the-Water, United Kingdom on November 25, 2021. (Photo by David M. Bennett/Dave Bennett/Getty Images, Courtesy of Hawkstone)
Farage criticized the Labour and Conservative parties for not talking about agriculture, saying, “It’s as if the 15% of people who live in rural areas aren’t taking part in the national debate.” He cited the Conservatives’ obsession with wilding net zero as an example, criticizing them for playing the role of the countryside during elections, but punishing farmers in reality.
He told an audience in Cheshire, a key farming county: “I can’t think of a government that has done more to suppress food production in this country since 2019 than the Conservatives, yet now we have a general election and Rishi Sunak has invited all the farmers into Downing Street for tea and biscuits.”
Reform UK, the party Farage founded and now leads again, pledges to boost rural economies, “support farmers to stay in farming and not pay them to quit farming or retire,” and “end climate-related farm subsidies.” Farage said, “My strategy is clear. I’ve lived in the countryside in the south of England all my life. In fact, I still live in the village where I was born. So I have a sense of roots in my land, a sense of community. Family, community and country are what matter to me. These are at the heart of Reform UK’s philosophy, our values and principles.”
The Reform Party leader spoke of growing farmer protests across Europe, noting that net zero plans are “infuriating farmers” on the continent. Farmers’ actions have shut down cities across the European Union over the past year, and opposition to the imposition of tough EU climate targets on the Netherlands was so strong last year that it gave rise to a new pro-farmer party and sparked fierce reactions in national elections.
The Dutch Farmers Party (BBB) is currently part of the coalition that governs the Netherlands.
Jeremy Clarkson has not publicly endorsed any party in this election so far, but has backed the Conservatives in the past. After a video went viral of police running over a cow that had fled onto a city street, which some criticised as a disproportionate response, Clarkson said this week that he would “vote for whichever party stops the police from running over cows.”
I will vote for the party that stops police from running over cows.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) June 16, 2024
