Kaleb Cooper bemused as Clarkson’s Farm star ridicules woke revamp of London feature: ‘What is that!’
Kaleb Cooper didn’t exactly mince his words when he spotted a feature on London’s traffic lights had undergone a makeover during a trip to the capital.
In the second half of Clarkson’s Farm season three, Cooper – who’s recently opened up on how his dreams of owning his own farm have taken a dent – joined land agent Charlie Ireland in London to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Together, the pair discussed how to get young people into farming as well as how farmers can be better supported through subsidies and grants post-Brexit.
Prior to meeting the PM, Cooper and Ireland enjoyed a coffee near Trafalgar Square before they walked through central London towards Whitehall.
“Oh, I drove through here! I didn’t put my indicator on at this junction here,” an excited Cooper quipped as he reminisced about his earlier trip to London at Clarkson’s behest back in season one.
Ireland then gave a brief history lesson on the significance behind Nelson’s Column and the Battle of Trafalgar but Cooper soon became distracted by an “I love London” souvenir, prompting the Chipping Norton native to remark: “F*** that.”
As they continued their walk to Downing Street, Cooper took it upon himself to press the button at a set of traffic lights.
However, it quickly became clear he wasn’t prepared for one of the capital’s alterations to the traffic crossing.
Instead of being presented with a green lit-up man to show he and Ireland could cross, the symbol had been replaced by intertwined male and female gender signs.
The attempt to promote inclusivity of all genders baffled Cooper who left Ireland chuckling as he blurted out: “What is that?!’
“Just keep going,” Ireland said with a chuckle before Cooper shot a bemused look to the Clarkson’s Farm cameras.
The decision to roll out the gender-centric traffic symbols was part of Mayor Sadiq Khan and TfL’s campaign to show its support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT+) diversity in London.
It wasn’t just the introduction of gender symbols that caught the eye as other lights were changed to show two male green figures or two green women holding hands.
In 2016 when the lights were first changed, Mayor Khan shared the reasoning behind TfL’s decision, saying: “One of the greatest things about this city is our differences and every Londoner should be proud of who they are.
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“I am very proud of our LGBT+ community here and I am looking forward to working closely with them as their Mayor.
“These new signals show that we stand shoulder to shoulder with them and display the tolerance and celebration of difference in our city.”
It turns out it wasn’t just Cooper who’d been left baffled by the decision to change London’s traffic symbols.
Speaking to the Express, several members of the public branded it “ridiculous” and “confusing”, with one northern-based tourist telling the publication: “This wouldn’t work up north. If you introduced this in Preston people wouldn’t know what you were going on about. I think it’s just a London thing really.”