Jeremy Clarkson has launched a furious broadside against SNP plans to reintroduce a scrapped rail fare scheme, branding it a “literally the definition of insanity” and slamming it as “communism”.
The outspoken broadcaster and Clarkson’s Farm star took aim at the decision to bring back a policy that previously failed to significantly increase train usage or reduce car travel.
Clarkson didn’t hold back, writing: “Back in 2023, the far left ideologues that run things up there decided to abolish peak-time rail fares… And naturally, it didn’t work.”
Clarkson noted that the initial £40million taxpayer-funded scheme only led to a “6.8 per cent” rise in rail users- mainly benefiting “a small number of rich commuters using the train more often”.
Car use remained unchanged. Despite this, the policy is now being revived.
“They admit that they tried it, and that it failed. And now they’re going to do it again. It’s literally the definition of insanity. Trying the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result,” Clarkson wrote.
While “eco mentalists,” trade unions, commuters and even business leaders in Scotland support the move, Clarkson is one of the few to call it out publicly.
He mocked claims that it could help reduce working from home, describing that trend as merely “working from the coffee shop and the gym. Or not working at all.”
The real sting, according to Clarkson, is who will foot the bill. He warned that the burden would fall on taxpayers across the UK, particularly in England.
MORE LIKE THIS:
Kaleb Cooper admits ‘it was tough mentally’ as he opens up on fresh Jeremy Clarkson ‘arguments’Jeremy Clarkson shares ‘too awful to bear’ as he teases ‘disturbing scene’ in new Clarkson’s FarmJeremy Clarkson drops worrying update about future of Clarkson’s Farm as he shares health blow
“If you’re a refuse collector in Luton or a nurse in Wolverhampton or a brickie in Huddersfield, some of the money you pay in tax each month is being used to make a Scottish lawyer’s weekly trip from Glasgow to Edinburgh a little bit cheaper,” he wrote in his latest column for The Sun.
He also feared the policy could creep south. “What worries me even more is that politicians in Westminster may look at what’s happening north of the border and decide we should have a similar system in England,” he warned.
Clarkson went further, mocking Labour’s past transport pledges and linking them to wider ideological goals. “It’s communism. Sounds great on paper. Doesn’t work,” he declared.
Referencing Labour’s promise to clear the driving test backlog by increasing availability, he added: “Figures released this week show that the number of people waiting for a driving test has shot up by 80,000 and has now, for the first time ever, broken through the 600,000 barrier.”
Clarkson sarcastically added: “Starmer and his cronies promised something and then didn’t bother delivering. Amazing.”
He also speculated whether the backlog is deliberate to support Net Zero targets: “Nothing cuts the number of polluting cars on the road more than not allowing anyone to drive one.”
In true Clarkson fashion, the column veered into other gripes – including a bizarre six-hour taxi ride taken by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and absurd road safety proposals to reduce speed limits to 10mph.
But his central message was crystal clear: subsidised travel schemes that don’t work the first time shouldn’t be repeated – and certainly shouldn’t be funded by English taxpayers.