Ed Miliband responds after Jeremy Clarkson hints he could run as MP for Doncaster
After Jeremy Clarkson hinted he could run as MP for Doncaster, Ed Miliband responds to the possibility of the former Top Gear presenter ousting him from his seat.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has responded to former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson hinting he could run to replace the Labour man as MP for Doncaster.
The motoring journalist, who now fronts his Clarkson's Farm show on Amazon Prime, has suggested he could stand for election in the Doncaster North constituency at the next general election, where Miliband has been MP since 2005.
Clarkson, 65, sparked rumours he could run after saying on social media: "People of Doncaster North. Are you happy with your MP? Would you like it if someone from your neck of the woods kicked him out?"
Speaking on Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips today, Miliband said this wasn't the first time he had heard rumours of the Grand Tour host wanting to run for Parliament in his seat.
"I think he is a sort of long-standing aspirant to my seat," the former Labour leader said. "I think he said in 2013 that he was going to contest my seat.
"So look, it’s for other people to decide if they want to stand for Parliament, including in my seat. I welcome all comers. Let’s see what happens."
At last year's general election, Miliband won Doncaster North with a majority of more than 9,100. Yet current polls suggest he could be unseated by Reform UK were an election held today.
On Reform, Clarkson has also recently taken aim at the party's leader, Nigel Farage, in his column for the Sun newspaper.
He suggested Farage’s “numbers don’t add up” when he talks about the economy and added: “But before anyone can question his logic, he scuttles back to his safe space and starts raging about small boats.”