Jeremy Clarkson, the outspoken host of Top Gear, may be pondering a run at the UK's Parliament, according to a tweet he posted over the weekend. Of course, the note, which has now been retweeted over 4,400 times, comes from a man whose penchant for hyperbole is legendary, so take this musing with the usual grain of salt. There's been no further mention of his political aspirations since the original tweet went up, leading us to assume that it was just idle banter.
Even so, Clarkson has no issue being controversial, but it's where he's apparently thinking of running that's adding fuel to the fire – Doncaster North. Located in southern Yorkshire, the area is currently represented by the leader of the liberal Labour Party, Ed Miliband, according to The Independent. Were Clarkson to depose Miliband, it'd be like Nancy Pelosi losing her seat in Congress to an ornery Jay Leno.
Clarkson's bluntness and utter disregard for decorum - he once called former prime minister Gordon Brown a "one-eyed Scottish idiot" and has a habit of routinely insulting other countries - run counter to what we normally think of when it comes to British politics. But the 53-year-old presenter has never been quiet about his political views, both on Top Gear and in his regular newspaper columns. And as we've shown before, he's quite popular in the UK, having at least one petition started for him to assume the position of Prime Minister. British friends, would you vote for Clarkson as your MP? Let us know in Comments.
I'm thinking I might stand in the next election as an independent for Doncaster North, which is where I'm from. Thoughts?
- Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) September 14, 2013
