Boxing Day 2024 we're here in chiddingstone beautiful Village this is a merger the old s and burto and the westc Hunts have merged because so many motorways have been built in up far again the Risen room and I come to this meet every single year I came to it when it was an actual fox hunt um but even with fox hunting becoming illegal and Trail hunting coming in as you can see thousands of people come it's a wonderful rural tradition and you get the feeling that the HT is very much a part of the rural
community so I love it and the thought that the labor government now might even ban Trail hunting I mean you might well ban people riding horses it's it's quite extraordinary so I think this year there'll be a lot of very concerned people here a lot of small farmers here very worried about what the tax changes May mean um anybody involved with Trail hunting gosh are they going to ban it uh people I've met here involved with local shoots you know the Times newspaper leading campaigns against driven peasant shooting and it just feels at every level
that the rural community is becoming increasingly excluded in every way 14 years they certainly didn't legalize regular F oh what the conservatives did in 2005 and 2010 was said support us vote for us deliver leaflets for us and we'll be your saviors on hunting they took the money they took the hard work and delivered absolutely nothing and why do you think labor hates FX I think it's a lack of understanding as much as anything else and I think we're living in an increasingly urbanized Society you look at our members of parliament most of them you
know lived in big cities been at University lived in big cities no connection with the countryside no connection with where food comes from no understanding um of these traditions and a little a bit of class hatred built in but I tell you what if you want to find real toughs I mean you'll struggle with this lot you I mean this is a cross-section of people living in living in rural England you know the idea that this this is purely uh you know a sport the aristocracy is absolute nonsense do you ride yourself I have done
years ago um unfortunately after one or two plane crashes and incidents that I've been through in my life I'm I'm um I'm I'm safe wrong ground we are a political party in the ascendancy we've got momentum and you know what we've also got optimism and you look around you you you you look at a BS divided conservative party you look at a labor party whose demeanor is as if they're going to a family funeral every day and they're doing their absolute best to talk us into recession and reform a bullish we say you know what
we can turn this around we can make this country better again uh so I think 2025 you're going to see the political changes that began in 2024 go to an even higher level if of course they don't cancel all the elections and there are rumors that SX maybe Kent will not have the County council elections next year they'll be suspended for one year or two year Well as far as I'm concerned only dictators cancel elections and if they do that they'll be in for an even bigger fight with me than they can even imagine what
was your highl might surprise you but the birth of my two grandsons first first grandchildren and and frankly you know whatever happens in politics or in Life or the ups and downs or there were some other very big moments but that must be for me the most important moment and their names are Sebastian and Harrison um politically this is this is the year which you broke into how does it feel well it was an MEP for almost 21 years people forget that the difference was that for the last decade of that I was on the
front bench sitting next to the commission president having the big speech in all of the major debates and you go from that to being a back venture in the House of Commons without quite the same level of authority so that's obviously taking a bit of adjusting too um it's an honor to be in that amazing old building but it's a very funny place I mean the way which You' operate thank you very much thank you yeah it's a very very funny place to work very difficult to be party leader and an MP because you've got
party business to do which you can't do in the House of Commons and then what time is voting any time between 4 o'clock and 7 o'clock well when do I come back we can't tell you very difficult to combine the two how have you found the rules and procedures and the eccentricities I don't mind the Traditions I rather like the tradition I would just like to know what time roughly votes are happening and roughly what time debates are I keep missing stuff I'd like to take part of but look you know my main priority since
the election got four people in there they're in there more than any other party they're intervening I would argue that our four have given more opposition to labor than 121 so-call conservatives so that side of it is going very very well uh look you know I'm enjoying it of course I am but but that night breaking through that was a big moment but you know what November the 5th in the ballroom at maralago no press No cameras just the Donald family friends maralago members supporters I think I was the only British person in the room
and what an absolute honor that was to be there and see a truly historic moment and one that won't just shape America is going to shape the whole of the West World a lot of talk about you perhaps using some of that context to help your country in its hour of need Peter mandon you see yourself doing that well look my position's been clear on this from the start you know I don't I don't support starma or Lamie or mandelson or any of them but our relationship with America is vital economically absolutely crucial in terms
of Defense without America we are defenseless it's our most important relationship in the world forget Brussels that's going down the tubes over there so anything I could do that was in a national interest to forge bonds I would do and don't forget it isn't just Donald Trump that I'm friendly with I know half that cabinet I've known these people a long long time many of them are friends so I could be very useful if labor choose to use me but looking at the reports over the last couple of days it's as if I've split the
labor party down the middle over the issue well they're doing a good job themselves as well correct correct so so you know we'll see what comes it
