Jeremy Clarkson issues savage response to claims Rachel Reeves has been 'bullied' amid Budget fallout

"The only thing that was unfunded was the welfare payments which she has made, and she's doing it on the backs of a lot of people out there who are working very hard and getting poorer," Ms Badenoch stated during an appearance on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

The opposition leader also revealed that shadow chancellor Mel Stride contacted the Financial Conduct Authority regarding Ms Reeves' failure to reveal the fiscal headroom, seeking an investigation into the matter.

Ms Badenoch suggested the Chancellor attempted to manipulate public expectations by portraying the Budget negatively in advance to minimise backlash upon its announcement.

The Chancellor expressed discomfort regarding Ms Badenoch's comments during the Budget debate, where the Conservative leader labelled her "spineless, shameless and completely aimless".

The Tory leader also questioned whether Sir Keir Starmer was "mansplaining" to Ms Reeves during their front bench exchange.

Ms Reeves publicly addressed the fallout to her Budget, and Ms Badenoch, specifically. "I don't like that sort of stuff. I don't do it. I try to concentrate on policies rather than personalities," she said.

Meanwhile, Ms Badenoch has vigorously defended her parliamentary conduct, rejecting suggestions she had crossed a line during her Budget response.

But Ms Badenoch isn't the only person to face accusations of crossing a line regarding their conduct towards Ms Reeves.

During an interview on Sky News over the weekend, Ms Reeves came under firm questioning from presenter Trevor Phillips over allegations she lied ahead of the Budget.

However, his manner during the interview led some to jump to the Chancellor's defence, including political commentator Narinder Kaur.

She posted on X: "I understand that we need to know if Rachel Reeves lied..but the manner is which Trevor Phillips and now ##bbclaurak are talking to Reeves is shocking.

"Like she's a naughty school kid - demeaning. Kemi Badenoch seems to have started this last week. Rachel Reeves is being bullied as we speak. Horribly bullied." (sic)

Ms Kaur's verdict on the treatment of Ms Reeves in the media caught the eye of Mr Clarkson, who brutally shared his thoughts on the "bullying" claims.

"Diddums," the former Top Gear star savagely replied to Ms Kaur.

Diddums

— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) November 30, 2025

Ms Kaur fired back at the former Grand Tour host: "There is a way to be firm without being borderline bullying. And had Trevor Phillips done so, he would have won that exchange."

Mr Clarkson's dig at Ms Reeves on social media came just hours after he ripped into her Budget in his latest newspaper column.

He opened his latest Sunday Times piece: "It’s perfectly straightforward. Starmer and Reeves and Corbyn and that snaggletoothed vegan from the Green Party believe that if you work hard, all the money you earn is theirs, and that it should be given to someone who won’t work at all."

In his less-than-favourable assessment of the Budget, he added that if someone were to make a business "a roaring success", that "Rachel Reeves will put them in a vice and squeeze them so hard, they will actually burst."

In another swipe at the Chancellor, he penned: "In the UK it’s difficult to get on the bottom rung of the ladder and impossible to climb up it, because Reeves doesn’t believe in that sort of thing; not at her core.

"It revolts her," he brutally surmised.

Mr Clarkson is no stranger to publicly voicing his opposition to Ms Reeves's performance as Chancellor since Labour won the last General Election.

The 65-year-old has been a leading voice against the Chancellor's changes to the inheritance tax that affects farmers.