Jeremy Clarkson has, in no uncertain terms, made clear whether he intends to adhere to a new Government-backed energy advice tool that is urging pubs to pour warmer pints and power down bottle fridges during overnight hours to combat escalating costs.
The Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s initiative comes as the Middle East conflict pushes crude oil prices to approximately $100 per barrel, a significant jump from $73 before US and Israeli military strikes against Iran commenced.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s online guidance encourages hospitality businesses to eliminate wasteful electricity consumption by monitoring energy-intensive equipment such as extraction systems, ovens and lighting.
Concerns are mounting that rising bills could force more pubs to shut their doors, with some operators reporting they are now being quoted rates roughly 30 per cent higher than February levels.
Jeremy Clarkson runs his own pub and farm in the Cotswolds
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AMAZONIndustry figures greeted the Government’s recommendations with scorn on Tuesday, branding the measures woefully inadequate for tackling the sector’s crippling energy burden.
One pub owner, Andy Lennox, delivered a scathing verdict on the initiative: “To be told to turn the lights off overnight really is groundbreaking stuff.
“Thank goodness someone in Whitehall finally cracked it. Decades of hospitality experience across the country, and the answer was sitting there all along.”
Meanwhile, Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, emphasised that numerous pieces of equipment cannot simply be switched off due to health and safety regulations or the necessity of maintaining beer quality.
Ed Miliband
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PAShe stated: “There are a host of appliances that you simply cannot turn off, many for health and safety reasons.
“So it is not just help with reducing eye-watering energy bills that the beer and pub sector needs the Government to help with but the overall cumulative costs of doing business including disproportionate tax bills.”
The trade body estimates that surging energy costs will saddle the pub sector with an extra £169million in annual expenses.
Ms McClarkin highlighted the razor-thin margins operators face, noting that a typical pub earns merely 12p profit on every £5 pint sold.
The man isn’t sensible
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) March 17, 2026
And now, arguably one of the country’s most high-profile pub owners has waded into the debate, with Mr Clarkson taking to X to share his thoughts on Mr Miliband’s latest scheme.
“@JeremyClarkson will you be following mad Ed’s advice of serving warmer beer?” one X user asked the former Top Gear host, who promptly replied: “The man isn’t sensible.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time Mr Clarkson, who owns pub The Farmer’s Dog in the Cotswolds, has publicly taken aim at Mr Miliband over his ideas from Westminster.
When it comes to Mr Miliband’s proposals to shift Britain towards Net Zero, Mr Clarkson ridiculed the Labour politician for thinking “all our problems can be solved if we go to work on a bicycle and stop eating meat.”
Jeremy Clarkson opened his own pub, The Farmer’s Dog, in 2024
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AMAZONIn fact, his opposition to Mr Miliband manifested itself in a direct challenge to his parliamentary seat last year.
Teasing a potential stint in politics in an attempt to oust the politician from his seat, Mr Clarkson penned on X: “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?”
Mr Clarkson was born in Doncaster in 1960 before eventually moving to London to pursue a career in journalism.
Mr Miliband responded to Mr Clarkson’s cryptic statement at the time, telling Sky News in October: “I welcome all comers. Let’s see what happens.”