Age, Biography, and Wiki
Jeremy Clarkson was born to Shirley Gabrielle Clarkson, a teacher, and Edward Grenville Clarkson, a traveling salesman. His parents initially ran a business selling tea cosies, which later became successful after they started selling Paddington Bear stuffed toys. Clarkson attended Hill House School in Doncaster and later Repton School, where he faced bullying and was eventually expelled for various reasons. His biography is well-documented on Wikipedia, highlighting his career milestones and personal life.
| Occupation | Game Show Host |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 11 April 1960 |
| Age | 65 Years |
| Birth Place | Sprotbrough, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Horoscope | Aries |
| Country | England |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Details about Jeremy Clarkson's physical measurements are not extensively covered in available sources, but he is known for his tall stature. His physical appearance has been a subject of interest, particularly in relation to his robust personality and energetic on-screen presence.
The BBC often played down his comments as ultimately not having the weight they were ascribed. In 2007, they described Clarkson as "not a man given to considered opinion", and in response to an official complaint another BBC spokeswoman once said: "Jeremy's colourful comments are always entertaining, but they are his own comments and not those of the BBC. More often than not they are said with a twinkle in his eye." On his chat show, Clarkson, he caused upset to the Welsh by placing a 3D plastic map of Wales into a microwave oven and switching it on. He later defended this by saying, "I put Wales in there because Scotland wouldn't fit."
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Dating & Relationship Status
Jeremy Clarkson is divorced and has been focusing on his career and personal projects. His relationship status does not frequently make headlines, as he prefers to keep his personal life private.
He is the son of Shirley Gabrielle Clarkson (née Ward), a teacher, and Edward Grenville Clarkson, a travelling salesman. His parents, who ran a business selling tea cosies, put their son's name down in advance for private schools, with no idea how they were going to pay the fees. However, shortly before his admission, when he was 13, his parents made two Paddington Bear stuffed toys for Clarkson and his sister Joanna. These proved so popular that they started selling them through the business. Because they were manufacturing and selling the bears without regard to intellectual property rights, upon his becoming aware of the bears Michael Bond took action through his solicitors. Edward Clarkson travelled to London to meet Bond's lawyer. By coincidence, he met Bond in the lift, and the two struck up an immediate rapport. Consequently, Bond awarded the Clarksons the licensing of the bear rights throughout the world, with the family eventually selling to Britain's then leading toystore, Hamleys. The income from this success enabled the Clarksons to be able to pay the fees for Jeremy to attend Hill House School, Doncaster, and later Repton School.
Clarkson's first job was as a travelling salesman for his parents' business, selling Paddington Bear toys. He later trained as a journalist with the Rotherham Advertiser, before also writing for the Rochdale Observer, Wolverhampton Express and Star, Lincolnshire Life, Shropshire Star and the Associated Kent Newspapers. When writing in 2015 in his final column for Top Gear magazine, he credited the Shropshire Star as his first outlet as a motoring columnist: "I started small, on the Shropshire Star with little Peugeots and Fiats and worked my way up to Ford Granadas and Rovers until, after about seven years, I was allowed to drive an Aston Martin Lagonda... It was 10 years before I drove my first Lamborghini."
In September 2013, a tweet proposing that he might stand for election as an independent candidate in Doncaster North, the constituency of the then Labour leader of the opposition, Ed Miliband, was retweeted over 1,000 times — including by John Prescott. Clarkson has been critical of the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. He referred to the US as the "United States of Total Paranoia", commenting that one needs a permit to do everything except for purchasing weapons. In 2017, in response to the United States officially recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Clarkson advised Palestinians to recognise London as the capital of the United States.
In 2003, Clarkson presented The Victoria Cross: For Valour, looking at recipients of the Victoria Cross, in particular focusing on his father-in-law, Robert Henry Cain, who received a VC for actions during the Battle of Arnhem in the Second World War. In 2007, Clarkson wrote and presented Jeremy Clarkson: Greatest Raid of All Time, a documentary about Operation Chariot in the Second World War, a 1942 Commando raid on the docks of Saint-Nazaire in occupied France. At the end of 2007, Clarkson became a patron of Help for Heroes, a charity aiming to raise money to provide better facilities to wounded British servicemen. His effort led to the 2007 Christmas appeal in The Sunday Times supporting Help for Heroes.
During Top Gear's Patagonia Special, Clarkson said that the Porsche 928 was a car that was close to his heart because he was given the car to test for the series in 1994 and used it unexpectedly to drive from London to Sheffield to visit his dying father in hospital. Clarkson said that had he not driven the Porsche 928 (which was fast enough that a chicken he had cooked was "still warm" by the time he arrived in Sheffield) he "wouldn't have had the opportunity to say goodbye to [his] dad".
In the fallout from the comments, Variety reported that Amazon was likely ending its relationship with Clarkson; however, this report proved to be inaccuarate, as Clarkson's Farm was later renewed for a fourth season to be broadcast in 2025. In February 2023, IPSO announced that it was launching an investigation about the article, specifically taking forward two groups of complaints, from the Fawcett Society and the Wilde Foundation, which claimed "they were affected by breaches in accuracy, harassment and discrimination." In June 2023, IPSO concluded that the column was sexist and contained a "pejorative and prejudicial reference" to Meghan's sex, but it rejected complaints that the piece was inaccurate, meant to harass her or included discriminatory references on the grounds of race.
Clarkson married Alex Hall in 1989, but she left him for one of his friends after six months. In May 1993, he married his manager, Frances Cain, daughter of VC recipient Robert Henry Cain, in Fulham. The couple had three children. Clarkson has been described as a member of the Chipping Norton set. Known for buying him car-related gifts, for Christmas 2007 Clarkson's second wife bought him a Mercedes-Benz 600. Clarkson and Cain divorced in 2014.
While reviewing the TVR Sagaris in July 2005 for Top Gear at the test track, Clarkson slipped two discs in his back due to him excessively oversteering and was forced to stop driving for six months. Clarkson was involved in a protracted legal dispute about access to a "permissive path" across the grounds of his second home, a converted lighthouse, on the Isle of Man between 2005 and 2010, after reports that dogs had attacked and killed sheep on the property. Clarkson and his wife had claimed that four sheep were deliberately killed after being chased into the sea by a dog let off its lead. He lost the dispute after the Isle of Man government held a public inquiry, and he was told to re-open the footpath. The decision was affirmed by the Isle of Man High Court.
Clarkson is a fan of the progressive rock band Genesis and attended the band's reunion concert at Twickenham Stadium in 2007. He also provided sleeve notes for the reissue of the album Selling England by the Pound as part of the Genesis 1970–1975 box set. Clarkson, along with his son, are fans of the football team Chelsea FC. In September 2010, Clarkson was granted a privacy injunction against his first wife to prevent her from publishing claims that their sexual relationship continued after his second marriage (see AMM v HXW). He voluntarily lifted the injunction in October 2011, commenting that: "Injunctions don't work. You take out an injunction against somebody or some organisation and immediately news of that injunction and the people involved and the story behind the injunction is in a legal-free world on Twitter and the Internet. It's pointless."
Since 2017, Clarkson has been in a relationship with Irish-born former actress and screenplay writer Lisa Hogan, who features in his Amazon Prime series Clarkson's Farm. Clarkson lives in Chadlington, near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.
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| Husband | Alexandra James (m. September 1989-1990) Frances Cain (m. May 1993-2014) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Jeremy Clarkson's net worth is estimated to be around $80 million according to some sources, while others suggest it might be closer to $70 million or approximately £55 million. His salary from various projects, including The Grand Tour, is reportedly substantial, with an annual payout of around $20 million. Clarkson has also been involved in lucrative deals with streaming giants, such as an estimated £160 million deal for The Grand Tour episodes.
Clarkson's first major television role came as one of the presenters on the British motoring programme Top Gear, from 27 October 1988, to 3 March 1999, in the programme's earlier format. Jon Bentley, a researcher at Top Gear, helped launch his television career. Clarkson got the job after a screen test in which he spent 20 minutes ranting about the awfulness of the Citroen 2CV. Bentley shortly afterwards became the show's producer, and said about hiring Clarkson: "He was just what I was looking for — an enthusiastic motoring writer who could make cars on telly fun. He was opinionated and irreverent, rather than respectfully po-faced. The fact that he looked and sounded exactly like a twenty-something ex-public schoolboy didn't matter. Nor did the impression there was a hint of school bully about him. I knew he was the man for the job. [...] Clarkson stood out because he was funny. Even my bosses allowed themselves the odd titter." Clarkson then also presented the show's new format from 20 October 2002, to 8 March 2015. Along with co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond, he is credited with turning Top Gear into the most-watched TV show on BBC Two, rebroadcast to over 100 countries around the world. Clarkson's company Bedder 6, which handled merchandise and international distribution for Top Gear, earned over £149m in revenue in 2012, prior to a restructuring that gave BBC Worldwide full control of the Top Gear rights.
He sustained minor injuries to his legs, back and hand in an intentional collision with a brick wall while making the 12th series of Top Gear in 2008. In 2014, he received a £4.8 million dividend and an £8.4 million share buyout from BBC Worldwide, bringing his estimated income for the year to more than £14 million. On 30 July 2015, it was announced that Clarkson, along with former Top Gear hosts Richard Hammond and James May would present a new show on Amazon Prime Video. The first season was made available worldwide in 2016. On 11 May 2016, Clarkson confirmed on his Twitter feed that the series would be titled The Grand Tour, and air from a different location each week. On 9 March 2018, it was announced that Clarkson would host a revamped series of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on ITV.
In 2004, the BBC apologised unreservedly and paid £250 in compensation to a Somerset parish council, after Clarkson damaged a 30-year-old horse-chestnut tree by driving into it to test the strength of a Toyota Hilux. In December 2006, the BBC complaints department upheld the complaint of four Top Gear viewers that Clarkson had used the phrase "ginger beer" (rhyming slang for "queer") in a derogatory manner, when Clarkson picked up on and agreed with an audience member's description of the Daihatsu Copen as being a bit "gay". The Top Gear: Polar Special was criticised by the BBC Trust for glamorising drunk driving in a scene depicting Clarkson and James May consuming alcohol whilst Clarkson says to camera, "And please do not write to us about drinking and driving, because I am not driving, I am sailing," thereby implying that they were driving on frozen international waters. Despite the show's producers claiming that the incident occurred outside the jurisdiction of any drunk-driving laws, the BBC Trust maintained that the scene "was not editorially justified".
Business Ventures
Clarkson has made notable investments in infrastructure for Diddly Squat Farm, including a farm shop and café. He also invested in opening The Farmer's Dog pub in 2024, which has faced financial challenges. His business ventures reflect his adaptability and willingness to explore diverse opportunities.
From a career as a local journalist in northern England, Clarkson rose to public prominence as a presenter of the original format of Top Gear in 1988. Since the mid-1990s, he has become a recognised public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows for the BBC and appearing as a guest on other shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson has produced programmes and books on subjects such as history and engineering, and has written numerous books. In 1998, he hosted the first series of Robot Wars; from 1998 to 2000, he also hosted his own talk show, Clarkson.
In 2015, the BBC elected not to renew Clarkson's contract after he assaulted a Top Gear producer while filming on location. That year, Clarkson and his Top Gear co-presenters and producer Andy Wilman formed the production company W. Chump & Sons to produce The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video.
Responses to Clarkson's comments are often directed personally, with derogatory comments about residents of Norfolk leading to some residents organising a "We hate Jeremy Clarkson" club. In The Guardian's 2007 'Media 100' list, which lists the top 100 most "powerful people in the [media] industry", based on cultural, economic and political influence in the UK, Clarkson was listed as a new entrant at 74th. Some critics even attribute Clarkson's actions and views as being influential enough to be responsible for the closure of Rover and the Luton manufacturing plant of Vauxhall. Clarkson's comments about Rover prompted workers to hang an "Anti-Clarkson Campaign" banner outside the defunct Longbridge plant in its last days.
In response to the reactions he gets, Clarkson has stated "I enjoy this back and forth, it makes the world go round but it is just opinion." On the opinion that his views are influential enough to topple car companies, he has argued that he has proof that he has had no influence. "When I said that the Ford Orion was the worst car ever it went on to become a best-selling car." Clarkson was ranked 49th on Motor Trend Magazine's Power List for 2011, its list of the fifty most influential figures in the automotive industry. In 2023 and 2024, he was voted "sexiest man" in the UK.
Clarkson wanted to purchase the Ford GT after admiring its inspiration, the Ford GT40 race cars of the 1960s. Clarkson was able to secure a place on the shortlist for the few cars that would be imported to Britain to official customers, only through knowing Ford's head of PR through a previous job. After waiting years and facing an increased price, he found many technical problems with the car. After "the most miserable month's motoring possible", he returned it to Ford for a full refund. After a short period, including asking Top Gear fans for advice over the Internet, he bought back his GT. He called it "the most unreliable car ever made", because he was never able to complete a return journey with it.
Clarkson dislikes the British car brand Rover, the last major British owned and built car manufacturer. This view stretched back to the company's time as part of British Leyland. Describing the history of the company up to its last flagship model, the Rover 75, he paraphrased Winston Churchill and stated "Never in the field of human endeavour has so much been done, so badly, by so many", citing issues with the rack and pinion steering system. In the latter years of the company, Clarkson blamed the "uncool" brand image as being more of a hindrance to sales than any faults with the cars. On its demise, Clarkson stated "I cannot even get teary and emotional about the demise of the company itself — though I do feel sorry for the workforce." Clarkson has also expressed hatred for the Toyota Prius, Nissan Juke and Citroen 2CV.
Clarkson has also criticised Vauxhalls and has described Vauxhall's parent company, General Motors, as a "pensions and healthcare" company which sees the "car making side of the business as an expensive loss-making nuisance". Clarkson has expressed particular disdain for the Vauxhall Vectra, describing it as: "'One of my least favourite cars in the world. I've always hated it because I've always felt it was designed in a coffee break by people who couldn't care less about cars' and 'one of the worst chassis I've ever come across.'"
On 30 November 2011, while being interviewed on the BBC's The One Show, Clarkson commented on the UK's public sector strike that day, lauding the capital's empty roads. After mentioning the BBC's need for balance, he said, "I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families." The programme later apologised for his remarks, with further apologies issued by Clarkson and the BBC. These remarks had attracted 21,335 complaints to the BBC within 36 hours; the BBC also received 314 messages of support for Clarkson.
On 20 December 2022, Conservative MP Caroline Nokes wrote to The Sun's editor, Victoria Newton, calling for "action [to be] taken" against Clarkson and for an "unreserved apology". The letter was signed by more than 60 cross-party MPs. On 21 December, Kevin Lygo, the managing director of ITV, stated at a Broadcasting Press Guild event that Clarkson would remain host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? "at the moment" as ITV had "no control" over what he said in The Sun newspaper column, but added that what he wrote "was awful" and "he should apologise" for his comments. On the same day the head of the Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley stated Clarkson would not face criminal proceedings for his actions as it was not the job of officers to "police people's ethics" and the police could generally get involved when "things are said that are intended or likely to stir up or incite violence".
Social Network
Jeremy Clarkson is active on social media platforms, often engaging with fans and sharing insights into his life at Diddly Squat Farm. His presence on platforms like Twitter and Instagram keeps him connected with his audience and allows him to share updates about his projects.
After Trinny and Susannah labelled Clarkson's dress sense as that of a market trader, he was persuaded to appear on their fashion makeover show What Not to Wear to avoid being considered for their all-time worst dressed winner award. Their attempts at restyling Clarkson were rebuffed, and Clarkson stated he would rather eat his own hair than appear on the show again. For an episode of the first series of the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? broadcast in November 2004, Clarkson was invited to investigate his family history. It included the story of his great-great-great-grandfather, John Kilner (1792–1857), who invented the Kilner jar, a container for preserved fruit.
Clarkson supported a Remain vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, three days before the referendum, he and fellow presenter/best friend James May posted a video stating their support. Clarkson did not support Brexit, stating that while the European Union has its problems, Britain would not have any influence over the EU, should it leave the Union. He envisions the European Union being turned into a US-like "United States of Europe", with one army, one currency, and one unifying set of values. In 2019, Clarkson said: "Europe has to punish us—they can't allow us to leave without being damaged because then everyone will want to go. We don't want to go if we're going to be damaged." In a January 2019 interview with LBC, Clarkson called Brexit voters "coffin-dodging idiots", though also criticised the younger voters, who overwhelmingly supported Remain, for their voting inactivity.
In September 2022, he described socialists as "disgusting people". Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Clarkson shared a statement written by Boris Johnson on Twitter and captioned it "I was trying to think of something to say but Boris Johnson has said it all" and referred to the Queen as a "magnificent monarch". In January 2023, Clarkson argued a left-wing "coup" had silently taken place in British politics, media and culture, writing "We laugh as they change the name of the Sir Francis Drake Primary School to something less slavey. We think it's all a big joke. But it isn't. Think about what typically happens in a military operation and then look what the woke left has done here." He finished "At least Arthur Scargill had the decency to get on a soapbox and state his aims in public. This lot don't. They sit at home, hiding in the impenetrable shadow of anonymity, inventing new rules to ensnare anyone and everyone they deem to be unworthy."
"You can't be a true petrolhead until you've owned an Alfa Romeo." Clarkson has spoken highly of the Czech-made Škoda Yeti, calling it possibly the best car in the world, and used 20 minutes of a Top Gear episode putting the Yeti through a number of challenges to support his point. Clarkson called the Brera, Alfa's latest sports car, "Cameron Diaz on wheels". Clarkson has expressed fondness for late-model V8 Holdens, available in the UK rebadged as Vauxhalls. Of the Monaro he said, "It's like they had a picture of me on their desk and said [ Australian accent ] 'Let's build that bloke a car!'" and "I can't believe it... I've fallen in love... with a Vauxhall!" Clarkson suffered two slipped discs that he attributed to driving the Monaro, which he described as being "back-breakingly marvellous". Clarkson considers the Lexus LFA as the best car he has ever driven.
In a later incident during a Top Gear episode broadcast on 13 November 2005, Clarkson, while talking about a Mini design that might be "quintessentially German", made a mock Nazi salute, and made references to Nazi Germany and the German invasion of Poland by suggesting the GPS "only goes to Poland". In November 2008, Clarkson attracted over 500 complaints to the BBC when he joked about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes. The BBC stated the comment was a comic rebuttal of a common misconception about lorry drivers and was within the viewer's expectation of Clarkson's Top Gear persona. Chris Mole, the Member of Parliament for Ipswich, where five sex workers were murdered in 2006, wrote a "strongly worded" letter to BBC Director-General Mark Thompson, demanding that Clarkson be sacked. Clarkson dismissed Mole's comments in his Sunday Times column the following weekend, writing, "There are more important things to worry about than what some balding and irrelevant middle-aged man might have said on a crappy BBC2 motoring show." Andrew Tinkler, chief executive of the Eddie Stobart Group, a major trucking company, stated that "They were just having a laugh. It's the 21st century, let's get our sense of humour in line."
In July 2010, Clarkson reportedly angered gay rights campaigners after he made a remark on Top Gear that did not get aired on 4 July episode. However, guest Alastair Campbell wrote about it on Twitter. Clarkson said: "I demand the right not to be bummed". The BBC later said that they cut this remark out, as they "edited down" the interview because it was too long to fit into the show. In an episode aired after the watershed on 1 August 2010, Clarkson described a Ferrari F430 as "special needs". He said the car owned by co-presenter James May looked "like a simpleton". Media regulator Ofcom investigated after receiving two complaints, and found that the comments "were capable of causing offence" but did not censure the BBC.
In March 2004, at the British Press Awards, he swore at Piers Morgan and punched him before being restrained by security; Morgan says it left him with a scar above his left eyebrow. In April 2007, Clarkson was criticised in the Malaysian parliament for having described one of their cars, the Perodua Kelisa, as the worst in the world, adding that "its name was like a disease and [suggesting] it was built in jungles by people who wear leaves for shoes". A Malaysian government minister countered, pointing out that no complaints had been received from UK customers who had bought the car.
On 25 March 2015, the BBC released an official statement confirming that, as a result of the actions which led to his suspension, they would not be renewing his contract with the show. Following the statement, North Yorkshire Police requested to view the report and stated that "action will be taken by North Yorkshire police where necessary". However, Tymon informed the police that he did not wish to press charges against Clarkson, and Clarkson urged fans of the show to stop trolling Tymon on social media, as what happened was not his fault. British police investigated death threats made against BBC Director-General Tony Hall over Clarkson's firing. Less than 24 hours after his dismissal, Clarkson was approached by Zvezda, a Russian state broadcaster, to present a motoring programme.
In December 2022, he was criticised for one of his columns in The Sun on Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, which was deemed misogynistic by critics as he stated: "I hate her. Not like I hate Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level. At night, I'm unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, 'Shame!' and throw lumps of excrement at her." He later said it was a reference to a scene from the television series Game of Thrones. He had used the same reference in an article published in The Sun in December 2018 to defend Meghan: "When Meghan Markle swapped being an actress for being a duchess, she was hailed as a breath of fresh air for the Royal Family — so why is she now being pilloried?... But then, after about seven minutes, everyone suddenly decided she's actually a witch. At this rate, it won't be long before she is stripped and forced to walk naked through the streets of York while people with skin diseases chant 'Shame!' and throw excrement at her. I can't understand why this is happening. You don't know her. I don't know her. So why have we all suddenly decided she should be mocked and pilloried for every little thing she ever does?'" In his other columns, Clarkson criticised Meghan for her "simpering victimhood", called her a "silly little cable TV actress", and stated that her climate change pleas make him want to "shoot a polar bear in the middle of its face." The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) said it had received more than 25,100 complaints about the piece, making it the article with the most number of complaints attached to it since IPSO's establishment in 2014. The number is also more than the total number of complaints made to IPSO in 2021, which was 14,355.
On 19 December Clarkson stated he was "horrified to have caused so much hurt" over his comments, which were also criticised by his daughter Emily and co-star James May. On 23 December, The Sun issued an apology, stating "columnists' opinions are their own" but they "regret the publication of this article" and are "sincerely sorry". On the following day, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex described the apology as "nothing more than a PR stunt" and added that the publication had not contacted Meghan to personally apologise which "shows their intent". In an Instagram post on 16 January 2023, Clarkson said that he had emailed the Duke and Duchess on Christmas Day 2022 to apologise, saying that his language had been "disgraceful" and he was "profoundly sorry". A spokesperson for the couple said Clarkson wrote solely to the Duke and the article was not an isolated incident considering "his long-standing pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny."
Education
Clarkson attended Hill House School in Doncaster and later Repton School. His educational background played a significant role in shaping his early life and career path.
Jeremy Clarkson's varied career and business ventures have contributed to his substantial net worth and enduring popularity in the entertainment industry.
Clarkson has stated he was deeply unhappy at Repton School, saying that he had been a "suicidal wreck" there, having experienced extreme bullying. He alleged that: "I suffered many terrible things. I was thrown on an hourly basis into the ice plunge pool, dragged from my bed in the middle of the night and beaten, made to lick the lavatories clean and all the usual humiliations that... turn a small boy into a gibbering, sobbing, suicidal wreck... they glued my records together, snapped my compass, ate my biscuits, defecated in my tuck box and they cut my trousers in half."
According to his own account, he was expelled from Repton School for "drinking, smoking and generally making a nuisance of himself". He famously left with one C and two U (fail) grades at A level. Clarkson attended Repton alongside future Formula One engineer Adrian Newey and former Top Gear Executive Producer Andy Wilman. He played the role of a preparatory school pupil, Atkinson, in a BBC radio Children's Hour serial adaptation of Anthony Buckeridge's Jennings novels until his voice broke.
In 2020, Clarkson stated that he usually votes for the Conservative Party, claiming not to be a natural Tory but "it just happens to be that every time it comes around and you weigh up which is going to provide you with a better life, the better country to live in, then it's usually the Conservatives"; he also mocked the policies of Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn, stating "only an idiot would vote for Corbyn". Clarkson is also a personal friend of former Prime Minister, Conservative leader and Foreign Secretary David Cameron. However, he also expressed support of incumbent Labour leader (current UK Prime Minister) Keir Starmer and maintained that he was prepared to vote for Labour "if there's an election tomorrow" citing Boris Johnson's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in 2023 he expressed criticism of Starmer's proposed economic and education policies. Ahead of the 2024 general election, Clarkson reversed his previous view on Starmer and stated "I get, of course, that people are fed up with the Tories, but I’d rather vote for my dog than Sir Starmer’s merry bunch of ideological nincompoops" and cited his opposition to Labour's stance on farming.
In a March 2023 column for The Times, Clarkson criticised the response to JK Rowling's comments on transgender issues, writing "she wasn't just cancelled. She was erased. They put her in the delete bin and then afterwards, all her former fans and even the actors and actresses she'd made famous emptied the bin into a landfill site." However, in the same article, Clarkson also argued that the existence of transgender people was not a new phenomenon, drawling parallels between the arrests of Alan Turing and Lucy Hicks Anderson, and that society could grow to accept trans people in the same way it has homosexuals, but accused teenage transgender rights movements of turning the debate into a culture war. He concluded, "I realise, of course, that the whole trans debate has been hijacked by lunatics who glue themselves to stuff and claim to be from a gender that doesn't even exist, and I know too that there is some kind of civil war going on between fiercely women women and women who just say they're women. This creates a noise that's annoying to most of us, but think how infuriating it must be to those who really were born in the wrong body?"
Environmentalists have protested or heckled Clarkson on a number of occasions for his views, including at his honorary degree ceremony at Oxford Brookes University, where a protester threw a banana meringue pie in his face in 2006, and in 2009 when activist group Climate Rush dumped horse manure on his lawn. Clarkson's comments on Greta Thunberg were criticised by his own daughter.
In 2005, Clarkson received an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from Oxford Brookes University. His views on the environment precipitated a small demonstration at the award ceremony for his honorary degree, when Clarkson was pied by road protester Rebecca Lush. Clarkson took this incident in good humour, responding "good shot" and subsequently referring to Lush as "Banana girl".
Clarkson is passionate about engineering, especially pioneering work. In Inventions That Changed the World Clarkson showcased the invention of the gun, computer, jet engine, telephone and television. He has previously criticised the engineering feats of the 20th century as merely improvements on the truly innovative inventions of the Industrial Revolution. He cites the lack of any source of alternative power for cars, other than by "small explosions". In Great Britons, as part of a public poll to find the greatest historical Briton, Clarkson was the chief supporter for Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a prominent engineer during the Industrial Revolution credited with numerous innovations. Despite this, he also has a passion for many modern examples of engineering. In Speed and Extreme Machines, Clarkson rides and showcases numerous vehicles and machinery. Clarkson was awarded an honorary degree from Brunel University on 12 September 2003, partly because of his work in popularising engineering, and partly because of his advocacy of Brunel.
In 2006, Clarkson ordered a Gallardo Spyder and sold the Ford GT to make way for it. In August 2008, he sold the Gallardo, because "idiots in Peugeots kept trying to race [him] in it". In October, he announced that he had sold his Volvo XC90. In January 2009, in a review of the car printed in The Times, he wrote: "I've just bought my third Volvo XC90 in a row and the simple fact is this: It takes six children to school in the morning."
Clarkson often discusses high-speed driving on public roads, criticising road safety campaigns involving cameras and speed bumps. In 2002, a Welsh Assembly Member Alun Pugh wrote to BBC Director-General Greg Dyke to complain about Clarkson's comments that he believed encouraged people to use Welsh roads as a high-speed test track. A BBC spokesman said that suggestions Clarkson had encouraged speeding were "nonsense". Clarkson has also made similar comments about driving in Lincolnshire. In a November 2005 Times article, Clarkson wrote on the Bugatti Veyron, "On a recent drive across Europe I desperately wanted to reach the top speed but I ran out of road when the needle hit 240 mph," and "From the wheel of a Veyron, France is the size of a small coconut. I cannot tell you how fast I crossed it the other day. Because you simply wouldn't believe me."
A Change.org petition, aiming to reverse the BBC decision, was started on 10 March by blogger Guido Fawkes. The petition reached its target 1,000,000 signatures by the afternoon of 20 March, and was delivered to the BBC in an artillery vehicle by a man dressed as Top Gear test driver The Stig, with Fawkes as spokesman. The hosting website described the petition as the fastest-growing campaign in its history. On 19 March 2015, at a charity auction at the Roundhouse in Camden, north London, Clarkson launched into a verbal tirade against BBC studio bosses related to his suspension from the programme, saying "The BBC have fucked themselves." He later stated that this was "meant in jest".
Peter Herbert, the chair of the Society of Black Lawyers, wrote to the Metropolitan Police requesting an investigation under the Public Order Act 1986 as he believed the column promoted racial hatred. The letter was co-signed by the Society of Black Lawyers, Operation Black Vote and Bandung Africa, as well as Lee Jasper, Viv Ahmun, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, and Claudia Webbe. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said "The allegations have been assessed, no offences have been identified, and no further action will be taken." On 11 January 2023, culture secretary Michelle Donelan described Clarkson's comments as "outrageous" but not "illegal" and said that she "wouldn't have said what he said and I don't align myself with the comments that he made" but "I defend his right to be able to say what he wants" because "that's the nature of free speech — of course, that shouldn't stray into illegal content or go in certain directions."
