Jeremy Clarkson rips into Green Party candidate for Makerfield over claims 'farming is racist': 'Loony leftery!'

Ms Wakefield, a mother of two, previously sought selection for the Gorton and Denton contest earlier this year but lost out to Hannah Spencer, who subsequently became the party's fifth MP.

The by-election was triggered after Labour's Josh Simons announced his resignation from the seat.

Eating Better has organised workshops encouraging participants to adopt "decolonial decision-making" and establish "intentionally inclusive spaces" within the British agricultural sector.

Materials published on the charity's website urged attendees to recognise "the unseen advantages they may have had and how people without these characteristics may have faced barriers".

The organisation also circulated a report last year by American activist Caroline J Sumlin that examined "white supremacy culture" in farming and proposed methods to confront "colonial power and legacies" within the food industry.

The document identified "defensiveness, "perfectionism," and "a sense of urgency" as manifestations of what it termed white supremacy culture.

Under a section titled "decoloniality", the report advocated action that "de-centres western knowledge and celebrates the knowledge of indigenous, racialised and marginalised communities".

Ms Wakefield also penned the foreword to Eating Better's "Nourishing Justice" report, which asserted that Britain's food system "mirrors and entrenches racial oppression and exclusion where it exists in society".

The document claimed that race exerts "a huge influence on people's experience of the entire food system, from food access, to food sector work, to inclusion in food policy spaces".

A farmer himself, Mr Clarkson was keen to give his take on Ms Wakefield in his latest column for The Sunday Times.

He suggested the Greens were attempting to pave the way for an Andy Burnham and Labour victory by "fielding a candidate who, on the face of it, is completely mad" and has a "fully fledged degree in loony leftery".

He went on to reference the report published by Ms Wakefield's charity, claiming its findings revealed that "farming is racist... and that the whole food industry needs to decolonised".

Unable to resist a dig at the left, he added: "Potatoes are a classic example of cultural appropriation, unlike having dreadlocks or wearing a keffiyeh, which are not, obviously."

But it wasn't just Ms Wakefield who ended up in the former Top Gear star's firing line, as he similarly took aim at Mr Burnham.

After sarcastically ripping into Eating Better, he added: "So there we are. Sarah Wakefield is a loony and if all goes well, no one will vote for her.

"Burnham will therefore win, become prime minister and set about reliving the socialistic glory days of the 1970s. Power cuts. Bankruptcies. Strikes. Rubbish piled high in the streets and dead rats everywhere. Perfection."

In a surprise turn of events, however, Mr Clarkson actually threw his support behind the Green candidate, praising the fact she has "real-world experience" unlike the "entire Labour front bench".

After pointing out that the Makerfield by-election appears to be a two-horse race between Reform UK and Labour, Mr Clarkson signed off: "Can you imagine if the left-leaning people of Makerfield were aware of Sarah and what a decent, hardworking mother she is? Could she win?

"Probably not, but if she split the vote and caused Burnham to lose, he would look like a massive a**e. And so would the idiot who gave up his job to make way for him.

"With that thought ringing in my head, I will end by saying what the Green Party will not: go Sarah. Go."

Ms Wakefield has defended her position and explained her perspective on decolonisation since the report came under fire from many in the agricultural world.

She told the BBC: "Decolonisation basically means that we're listening to marginalised voices in debates on things like food."

She linked Britain's high consumption of ultra-processed food to multinational corporations exploiting farmers in former colonies, suggesting this contributed to rising rates of bowel cancer and childhood obesity.

A Green Party spokesman said their candidate was "making the point that fairer distribution and better access to healthy food is good for people's health".