Jeremy Clarkson rips into Starmer over climate change summit stint amid farming tax outrage: ‘Waste of time!’

Jeremy Clarkson, 64, has hit out at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer following his appearance at the Cop29 Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan this week.

Along with a handful of other world leaders, the PM jetted to Azerbaijan to unveil the UK’s plans for an “81 per cent reduction in emissions” by 2035.

During his stint at the summit, Starmer also insisted: “The climate challenge is something that we have got to rise to and that’s why I’ve repeatedly said we’ve got to show leadership.”

However, as Clarkson highlighted – and mocked – in his latest column, the likes of the USA’s President-elect Donald Trump, China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and India’s Narendra Modi were a few of big-name leaders not in attendance.

And he is far from the only public figure to publicly ridicule Starmer for flying 2,500 miles to a climate change summit rather than facing urgent matters on home soil – such as the impending farmers’ protest in response to the Budget.

For instance, while speaking to GB News, political commentator Piers Pottinger said the decision to attend was a “pointless exercise” while the People’s Channel’s own Bev Turner blasted Starmer’s attendance as “embarrassing”.

However, speaking to GB News’ very own Christopher Hope, Starmer defended the decision to attend the summit instead of staying put in the UK to try and tackle the issues plaguing the nation at home.

But for Clarkson, Starmer’s defence and reasons for attending haven’t washed as he brutally explained in The Sun.

“Saying it was a conference for world leaders is the same as saying you’re hosting a gathering of global rock bands. Without the Stones, U2, The Who or Led Zep,” Clarkson began.

“Most of the other presidents and prime ministers had stayed away because they knew full well that it wouldn’t be a conference about climate change at all.

“Instead, it would just be a lot of leaders from the developing world saying they can’t do anything about global warming unless the West gives them £100trillion, and their wives some jewels.”

When musing about what Starmer’s real motivation for attending was, Clarkson claimed it was all “virtue signalling”, hitting out: “Saying to the eight people back home who still support him that he’s got their back… Other than this, his presence was a complete waste of time.”

When the Grand Tour front-man mused who benefitted from the summit, he sarcastically claimed “the local hotels will certainly have shifted a lot of locally sourced caviar” while the airport’s oil sales and the “roaring trade” of “Baku’s night ladies” were other beneficiaries.

In the end, Clarkson summarised: “The weather, meanwhile, will continue to become ever more bonkers. And people will continue to believe that if they take their own bag to the supermarket, they will make a realistic difference.”

Clarkson’s latest tirade towards Starmer comes just days after he pledged to take to the streets of London later this week.

Originally planning to protest the inheritance tax raid set out in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget, the NFU (National Farmers’ Union) had to step down due to “legal reasons”.

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But that hasn’t stopped independent farmers planning on protesting in Westminster later this week against the government’s tax measures.

And Clarkson has pledged his support to his fellow farmers after being a vocal critic of Reeves and her Budget ever since it was announced.

His Clarkson’s Farm co-star Kaleb Cooper also issued a similarly upset response to the Budget when Reeves announced it last month.