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Sunday 10 June 2012

More evidence today that Zac Goldsmith may be going to leave the Tories.

Robbie Gibb, Producer of the Daily Politics and Sunday Politics, tweeted this earlier today...


It's more evidence of Zac's unhappiness in the Tories and debate continues over whether he will decamp to UKIP, become an independent conservative, or even (Sunny Hundal has suggested) stand as Mayor of London should Boris resign - a role in which he could take an independent stand from Tory policy and fight against the third runway.

In any event it seems increasingly unlikely that he will be a Conservative candidate in or around Richmond in the next general election.

Interesting times in Ham Common...

Update

Here's a BBC news report on the airport issue and what Zac says is even more interesting. On the issue of the third runway he says

'IN THIS AREA I wouldn't stand as a Conservative on that manifesto'

Maybe Mary Reid (below) is right - and he's jumping ship to another constituency...

8 comments:

  1. Not to mention the fact that his constituency disappears

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  2. .It seems more likely to affect Vince (Next door in Twickenham) than Zac i'm afraid

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  3. ..though obviously we wait and see the outcome of the boundary commission review with bated breath...:-)

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  4. Mary Reid - see the update above!!

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  5. who would stand on that platform in SW London? Less about a principled opposition to Tory lack of greenness and more about simple realpolitik. Hardly an admirable stand from Goldsmith jnr!

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  6. yes, agree, his comment on the video does rather sound like he may be happy to stand on that platform elsewhere!

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  7. I've mentioned previously how I think UKIP's so-called environment policies wouldn't work for Zac.

    Given Zac's repeated comments on Heathrow, I can't see him standing elsewhere as a Conservative if a 3rd runway were in the proposal:

    (i) He'd be viewed very suspiciously by the voters in the new area as someone who abandoned his last constituents over a crucial local issue.

    (ii) It wouldn't go down at all well with fellow Conservative MPs: He'd be seen not so much as an honourable maverick (which is how I think he'd like to be seen) but as someone who steals others' constituencies to avoid the local consequences of an unpopular Conservative policy.

    More likely, I think: either standing down, or standing as an independent Green Conservative, or... Well, I know relations between Zac and the LibDems haven't been exactly, er... warm... but... erm... have you considered a little walk over Ham Common and Richmond Park and having a little chat about... you know... the weather this time of year, and so on...

    ;-)

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  8. Most Conservatives I know would be happy to see the back of Goldsmith and his anti-Heathrow views.

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