Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson proposes shocking idea that could leave pensioners out in the cold
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Love him or hate him, Jeremy Clarkson certainly knows how to stir up controversy.
You might already be thinking, ‘Well what’s he on about this time?’
His latest headline-making comments were set out in his The Sunday Times column last week, where he proposed that the UK government should pay 18-year-olds a pension for 10 years instead of… well, pensioners.
For context, the UK government is currently appealing to Brits who retired early after the COVID pandemic (or were let go) to consider returning to work because of a labour shortage driven by large production demand and strict immigration policies.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt (yes, a different Jeremy) guaranteed he would find ways to make the prospect of returning to work worth their time in a bid to entice participation from the seniors.
‘We will never harness the full potential of our country unless we unlock it for each and every one of our citizens. Nor will we fix our productivity puzzle unless everyone who can participate does,’ he said.
‘So to those who retired early after the pandemic or haven't found the right role after furlough, I say: “Britain needs you” and we will look at the conditions necessary to make work worth your while.’
Now, the former Top Gear host suggests — and not without heaps of sarcasm — that 18-year-olds would then use the state pension to have a 'sex-and-drink-fuelled riot' before 'working till (they) drop dead'.
Clarkson stressed that older Brits would be ‘so much better’ to return to work because ‘they don’t need binary lavatories… are often in nappies, and they don’t need to rush off every five minutes to get a morning-after pill’. Hmm, remember how we said he knew how to stir up controversy?
His comments are understood to be a shot at more progressive attitudes among today’s youth, a demographic noted to be more widely accepting of changing norms in gender and sexuality.
‘If you are an employer and you take on a school-leaver today, you will need to provide them with whatever sort of lavatory they think they need that week, a hotline to HR and a safe space where they can spend a few hours every afternoon being “in the moment”, which is important for their mental health,’ he said.
‘The result, if you employ a lot of school-leavers, is that you will soon go bankrupt.’
The whole thing is bizarre, and that’s putting it lightly. So his controversial nature aside, why did he come up with such an idea?
Reportedly, it’s a solution to the ‘boredom’ of retirement of UK seniors.
Clarkson linked the outlandish proposal to the current pension age in the UK (66 years old), where 'your “organ” is broken and your joints are better at forecasting the weather than the Met Office (the UK’s Bureau of Meteorology)'.
Quite a character you are, Mr Clarkson.
Unsurprisingly, his most recent proposal isn’t the first time he’s featured in headlines for odd reasons.
Most recently, he was widely criticised for a column published in The Sun where he professed his searing hatred for Meghan Markle and said he wanted her to be paraded naked through the streets, thrown excrement at, and shamed a la Cersei Lannister’s (played by Lena Headey) Walk of Atonement in Game of Thrones.
He even went so far as to say ‘everyone who’s my age thinks the same way’.
The piece was eventually taken down and an apology was issued, but not before intense public scrutiny and maybe even personal cost for Clarkson, whose daughter openly went against his comments.
It was also reported that his flimsy email apology to the Sussexes also cost him his deal with Amazon Prime Video.
Source: YouTube/9 News Australia
Still, with ideas such as this, one can’t help but wonder: is it all for publicity, considering Clarkson’s recent documentary King of Controversy?
You be the judge on that.
What do you think of Clarkson’s plan? Do you agree that seniors, given his observations, make for better workers?
Tell us your comments below!
You might already be thinking, ‘Well what’s he on about this time?’
His latest headline-making comments were set out in his The Sunday Times column last week, where he proposed that the UK government should pay 18-year-olds a pension for 10 years instead of… well, pensioners.
For context, the UK government is currently appealing to Brits who retired early after the COVID pandemic (or were let go) to consider returning to work because of a labour shortage driven by large production demand and strict immigration policies.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt (yes, a different Jeremy) guaranteed he would find ways to make the prospect of returning to work worth their time in a bid to entice participation from the seniors.
‘We will never harness the full potential of our country unless we unlock it for each and every one of our citizens. Nor will we fix our productivity puzzle unless everyone who can participate does,’ he said.
Clarkson suggested that UK state pensions be given to 18-year-olds. Image Credit: Pexels/Jacob Sierra
‘So to those who retired early after the pandemic or haven't found the right role after furlough, I say: “Britain needs you” and we will look at the conditions necessary to make work worth your while.’
Now, the former Top Gear host suggests — and not without heaps of sarcasm — that 18-year-olds would then use the state pension to have a 'sex-and-drink-fuelled riot' before 'working till (they) drop dead'.
Clarkson stressed that older Brits would be ‘so much better’ to return to work because ‘they don’t need binary lavatories… are often in nappies, and they don’t need to rush off every five minutes to get a morning-after pill’. Hmm, remember how we said he knew how to stir up controversy?
His comments are understood to be a shot at more progressive attitudes among today’s youth, a demographic noted to be more widely accepting of changing norms in gender and sexuality.
‘If you are an employer and you take on a school-leaver today, you will need to provide them with whatever sort of lavatory they think they need that week, a hotline to HR and a safe space where they can spend a few hours every afternoon being “in the moment”, which is important for their mental health,’ he said.
‘The result, if you employ a lot of school-leavers, is that you will soon go bankrupt.’
The whole thing is bizarre, and that’s putting it lightly. So his controversial nature aside, why did he come up with such an idea?
Clarkson says seniors would be better for the workforce compared to young people with progressive considerations. Image Credit: Pexels/Yaroslav Shuraev
Reportedly, it’s a solution to the ‘boredom’ of retirement of UK seniors.
Clarkson linked the outlandish proposal to the current pension age in the UK (66 years old), where 'your “organ” is broken and your joints are better at forecasting the weather than the Met Office (the UK’s Bureau of Meteorology)'.
Quite a character you are, Mr Clarkson.
Unsurprisingly, his most recent proposal isn’t the first time he’s featured in headlines for odd reasons.
He even went so far as to say ‘everyone who’s my age thinks the same way’.
The piece was eventually taken down and an apology was issued, but not before intense public scrutiny and maybe even personal cost for Clarkson, whose daughter openly went against his comments.
It was also reported that his flimsy email apology to the Sussexes also cost him his deal with Amazon Prime Video.
Source: YouTube/9 News Australia
Still, with ideas such as this, one can’t help but wonder: is it all for publicity, considering Clarkson’s recent documentary King of Controversy?
You be the judge on that.
What do you think of Clarkson’s plan? Do you agree that seniors, given his observations, make for better workers?
Tell us your comments below!
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