Jeremy Clarkson rages ‘what century does he live in’ as he rips into Keir Starmer over latest ‘ban’ move
Jeremy Clarkson has pulled no punches with his assessment of Labour’s plans to ban junk food adverts on TV before the 9pm watershed.
Labour’s plans to ban TV ads promoting junk food won’t come into effect until October 1, 2025 but they were confirmed in a written statement presented to the Commons on Thursday.
Health Minister Andrew Gwynne announced the decision as the government insists the move aims to tackle childhood obesity and protect children from exposure to unhealthy food advertising.
Several health campaigners have welcomed the scheme but Starmer and Labour have been criticised for the move given the way the younger generation consumes media.
Others, including Fat Families host Steve Miller, have said the plans “won’t work” and accused Starmer of over-reaching into people’s lives by implementing more bans.
On Friday, it was Clarkson’s turn to wade into the debate and it’s safe to say he isn’t on-board with the prime minister – who he recently branded a “communist” and “Stalinist” – and his party’s proposal.
Writing in his latest column in The Sun, Clarkson began by stating that the British public has “known for quite some time that the NHS doesn’t work”.
“The NHS was fine when the limits of medical science extended no further than aspirins and bandages, but it simply can’t provide cancer treatment, heart transplants and gender realignment operations, willy nilly, for everyone, forever,” he continued before stating there “isn’t enough money” for all of that.
Taking aim at Starmer, Clarkson went on: “Today, Sir Starmer is in charge and he reckons that many of these problems could be solved if there was a ban on junk food adverts on television before the 9pm watershed.
“What century is this man living in?” Clarkson brutally surmised.
The Clarkson’s Farm star mused that all a ban will do is “screw ITV” and other channels relying on the revenue stream of adverts.
He went on: “Starmer’s proposals will not really help the NHS because he’s just nibbling at the edge of the issue.
“What will make a difference is to accept that the NHS employs more people than the Indian railways.”
Clarkson pointed out that “only around half are medically qualified” which led him to question what purpose the other percentage serves.
The former Top Gear star then suggested Starmer should focus his attention on stopping unnecessary spending in the NHS to try and ease pressure on the organisation rather than banning junk food adverts.
While Starmer has been on the receiving end of Clarkson’s criticism many times before, it’s not just the PM who’s found himself in the 64-year-old’s firing line of late.
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WATCH HERE: Steve Miller slams Starmer’s plan to ban junk food ads on TV pre-watershed
Ahead of his final ever appearance on Amazon’s The Grand Tour, Clarkson hit out at Bear Grylls for creating a misconception about the show’s stunts over the years.
And days before that, Clarkson took aim at US podcaster Joe Rogan and former Top Gear host Chris Harris following their discussion about the BBC show.
Clarkson accused Rogan and Harris of reinforcing a mistruth about his time on the programme.
