Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician and journalist who served as Minister of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and International Development since 2019 as a Member of the House of Lords. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park from 2017 to 2019, previously holding the seat between 2010 and 2016. A member of the Conservative Party, he was its candidate at the 2016 London mayoral election, which he lost to Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party.[2] Ideologically characterised as having liberal and libertarian views, Goldsmith is known for his environmentalist[citation needed] and localist beliefs.
Born in London, the son of billionaire businessman and financier Sir James Goldsmith of the Goldsmith family, he was educated at Eton College and the Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form Studies. In 1998, his uncle Edward Goldsmith made him editor of The Ecologist, a position he retained until 2007.[3] Goldsmith was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Quality of Life Policy Group in 2005, co-authoring its report published in 2007.[4] Goldsmith was placed on the Conservative "A-List" of potential candidates in 2006,[5][6] and then in March 2007, he was selected through an open primary to contest the constituency of Richmond Park against the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP, Susan Kramer.[7] At the 2010 general election, he was elected to Parliament winning the seat with a majority of 4,091 votes.[8]
At the 2015 general election, Goldsmith was returned to the Commons with a majority of 23,015, an increase of almost 19,000 votes since 2010, against his nearest opponent.[9] He was chosen as the Conservative candidate for the 2016 election for mayor of London, which he subsequently lost to Labour candidate Sadiq Khan in the second round by 315,529 votes. His campaign was denounced by critics for being "divisive" by focusing on attempts to link Khan to Islamist extremists.[10]
He announced his resignation as a Member of Parliament following the Government's decision in October 2016, to approve the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. His resignation triggered a by-election in the Richmond Park constituency in which Goldsmith stood as an independent candidate.[11] He was defeated by Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats.[12] After Theresa May called a snap general election in April 2017, to be held on 8 June 2017, Goldsmith was reselected as the Conservative Party candidate for Richmond Park and won with a narrow majority of 45 votes.[13]
Goldsmith was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment and International Development on 27 July 2019 and has attended Cabinet as Minister of State since 10 September 2019.[14] He appeared on LBC's list of the 'Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives of 2019', at number 98.[15] Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats gained 7,766 more votes than Goldsmith in the 2019 general election (despite the election providing the Conservative Party's largest share of votes since 1979) and won back the Richmond Park seat
Early life
Childhood
Born on 20 January 1975 in London,[17] Goldsmith is the middle child of Sir James Goldsmith, a member of the Jewish Goldsmith family of German Jewish and French descent, and his third wife, the Anglo-Irish aristocrat, Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart. Goldsmith was brought up at Ormeley Lodge in Ham with his siblings, Jemima and Ben.[18] He has five paternal half-siblings,[19] and is also half-brother to Robin and India Jane Birley, his mother's children from her first marriage.[20] Goldsmith has stated “I was brought up by my father to identify very strongly as Jewish."[21]
As a child, Goldsmith was an avid reader of naturalist Gerald Durrell's works[22] and developed a committed passion for David Attenborough's wildlife programmes.[23] He later recalled, "He was my hero, and it was his work that made me fall in love with the natural world".[24] His ecological interests were nurtured further when his father gave him a copy of Helena Norberg-Hodge's book Ancient Futures, with a note saying: "This will change your life".[25]
His family has a long history in politics. Goldsmith's grandfathers were both Conservative Members of Parliament: his paternal grandfather Frank Goldsmith was a Conservative MP, while his mother's father Viscount Castlereagh (later the 8th Marquess of Londonderry) represented County Down as a Unionist MP in the British House of Commons. His maternal great-grandfather, the 7th Lord Londonderry, was an Ulster Unionist politician. Another maternal ancestor was Viscount Castlereagh, Chief Secretary for Ireland and British Foreign Secretary. Before 2005, Goldsmith supported and helped with the campaigns of Michael Gove MP and Joanne Cash.[26]
Goldsmith was educated at four independent schools: King's House School in Richmond and The Mall School in Twickenham, followed by Hawtreys School, near Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire,[27] and Eton College in Berkshire;[22] He was expelled from Eton after drugs were found in his room.[28][29] Goldsmith later said of the event "Cannabis was found in my room. I was guilty throughout my time at school, but on this one occasion I was innocent. But it seemed pointless at the time to put up any resistance. I learned my lesson, I think you could say."[30] He went on to achieve four A-Levels at Cambridge Centre for Sixth-Form Studies.[25][31]
Goldsmith travelled throughout the world with the International Honours Programme (courtesy of his uncle Edward Goldsmith),[32] including to Thailand, New Zealand, Mexico, Hungary and Italy. Goldsmith lived in California for two years, working at first for the think tank Redefining Progress[33] from 1995 to 1996, and later as a researcher for Norberg-Hodge's International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC) during 1996–98. While working with ISEC, Goldsmith travelled to India, spending a short time on an ashram in Rajasthan and later lived in Ladakh for six months, studying traditional cultures and helping run a tourist education programme.[34][35]
Writing and journalism
In 1997, Goldsmith was appointed Reviews Editor of The Ecologist by his uncle Edward Goldsmith, the magazine's founding editor, owner and publisher.[36][37][38] In 1998, he became Editor-in-Chief and Director of The Ecologist but did not draw a salary.[25] He relaunched The Ecologist on 28 March 2000 in a new format, transforming its academic journal-style into a current affairs-magazine format, thereby broadening its appeal and trebling its circulation.[25][39] In January 2006, when assuming a post as the reviewer of Conservative environmental policies for David Cameron, who had recently become party leader, it was announced that Goldsmith was to step down as editor.[40]
Goldsmith has spoken and written about environmental causes in Britain and has twice been invited to debate at the Oxford Union, where he delivered keynote addresses.[41][26] He writes for UK newspapers including the Daily Mail,[42] London Evening Standard,[43] Observer[44] and The Telegraph.[45][46] He is also a contributor to magazines such as the New Statesman[47] and Quintessentially Magazine.[48]
As a contributing author of the book We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples, published in late 2009,[49] which examines the culture of peoples around the world, he explores global diversities and threats facing humankind. Among the other contributors are western writers, such as Laurens van der Post, Noam Chomsky, Claude Lévi-Strauss and indigenous persons, such as Davi Kopenawa Yanomami and Roy Sesana. The book is composed of a collection of photographs, statements from tribal people, and essays from international authors, politicians, philosophers, poets, artists, journalists, anthropologists, environmentalists and photojournalists. In his essay, Goldsmith writes about how his travel around the world in his youth gave him first-hand experience of the misery brought by the promise of western "progress" and "development". He reflects on the culture of tribal people and, in reverence to it, urges people in the modern world to question what "progress" can really mean.[50]
Non-domiciled status
Prior to becoming an MP, Goldsmith had non-domiciled status;[51] in February 2016, The Evening Standard quoted Goldsmith stating that non-domiciled status let individuals "make lifestyle choices to avoid paying tax" and saying "I've never been accused of not paying tax."[52] In 2009, however, Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said that Goldsmith was likely to have avoided paying £580,000 per year for each year in the previous decade as a result of his non-dom status.[53]
In 2005, Goldsmith joined the Conservative Party,[54] stating that he regarded its main rival, the Labour Party, as "the party of big business".[55] After the Conservatives lost the 2005 general election to Labour, they elected David Cameron as their new leader.[54] Goldsmith thought highly of Cameron, expressing the view that while he was generally "cynical about politicians", he felt that Cameron was different.[56] Describing Cameron, he said "I don't know David Cameron very well... [but] I like him. I think you can judge a book by its cover... [and] I think the cover is pretty good."[55]
In December 2005, Cameron approved Goldsmith's appointment as Deputy Chairman, under former Environment Secretary John Gummer, of the Quality of Life Policy Group.[54][23] The group was tasked with the responsibility of examining quality of life matters such as carbon emissions and climate change, clean air and transport with a view to formulating Conservative policy.[57] The group's 600-page report, jointly authored by Goldsmith and Gummer, was presented at the Royal Institute of British Architects on 13 September 2007.[58] For Cameron, this move was an important part of rebranding the party to escape its reputation as the "Nasty Party".[54]
The report's[59] recommendations included increased taxes on short-haul flights and highly polluting vehicles, with the proceeds being used to cut the cost of clean alternatives; rebates on Stamp Duty and Council Tax for people who improve the energy efficiency of their home; and in addition it proposed a moratorium on airport expansions.[60] The report drew criticism from Labour and from the UKIP MEP Roger Helmer, who termed the proposals "anti-Conservative",[61] as well as from David Wilshire, at that time the Conservative MP for Spelthorne near Heathrow, who contrary to the Conservative leadership stance was in favour of a third runway.[62] The report's proposals also attracted comment from the aviation industry.[63] Cameron commended the report, pledging that many of its recommendations should be included in the Conservative manifesto.[60]
Parliamentary career: 2010–2015
His place on the roster of parliamentary candidates was announced around the time of the Conservative Party's 2005 Annual Conference, where he stated he saw no contradiction between his interest in environmental issues and being a Conservative.[64] Around the same time, he commented in an interview on his backing of the Conservative Party, arguing the Labour Party had evolved into being shaped by big business and big lobby groups interests[3] and had become too authoritarian and centrist.[23] Cameron recognised Goldsmith as a good prospective parliamentary candidate and in May 2006 placed him on an 'A-List' of young and diverse candidates whom he wanted to stand for the Conservatives in the 2010 general election
The Conservatives initially placed Goldsmith as their candidate for the safe seat at East Hampshire.[55] Goldsmith felt uneasy about representing this constituency, with which he had no previous connection, and thus pulled out to avoid carpetbagging.[55][65] He then entered the Richmond Park Conservative Association's open primary, which he won in March 2007.[55][26]
In 2008 Goldsmith was asked to comment about donations of £7,000 to his Party while not on the electoral register. Commenting on the issue, Goldsmith explained: "everything has been declared on time and accurately; however, for a few weeks last year I was not on the Electoral Roll, my name having been removed from Kensington and Chelsea's voter list, given that I was in the process of signing up for Richmond. Whatever was donated in that time may have to be repaid, but there is no suggestion that anything other was improprietous".[66]
In late 2009, the press asserted that Goldsmith had non-domiciled status and that as a London resident, albeit a discretionary beneficiary, he has use of British properties through a trust set up by his late father.[67] Goldsmith responded, in a statement about the suggestion of tax avoidance, that he has "always chosen to be tax resident in the UK" and virtually all his income was paid into British banks. Of non-dom status as a result of his late father's international status, Goldsmith added that he had already instructed his accountants to relinquish it of his own volition by early 2009.[68][69]
Goldsmith defeated the Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer in Richmond Park at the 2010 general election; he saw a 7% swing in the vote go to him.[70] The election resulted in a hung parliament and the formation of a coalition government led by Cameron and the Conservatives.[71] At the next general election, in May 2015, he increased his majority from 4,091 to 23,015 votes. He achieved an increase of 8.5 percent of the share of the vote from the 2010 general election, receiving a total of 58.2 percent of all votes cast by his constituents. This was the biggest increase in majority of any MP at the 2015 general election.[72][73]
Goldsmith co-ordinated a cross-party group of MPs to call for a Hillsborough-style inquiry into child sex abuse.[74] He co-wrote a letter to Home Secretary Theresa May demanding a full independent inquiry with six other MPs: Tim Loughton, Tom Watson, Simon Danczuk, John Hemming, Tessa Munt and Caroline Lucas. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, initially rejected the call but was subsequently forced to concede, after 145 further MPs added their names to Goldsmith et al.'s letter.[75]
In December 2015, Goldsmith voted in support of the government's plans to expand the aerial bombing of Islamic State targets.[76] He also endorsed a government bill that would have restricted trade union's abilities to strike.[77]
Electoral spending
Goldsmith is known to be one of the wealthiest MPs in Parliament, given that the bequest from his father, Sir James Goldsmith, who died shortly after the 1997 general election with a £1.2bn fortune, is subject to much scrutiny. Some tax experts have speculated Goldsmith's income could amount to as much as £5m per year from the trust left to him alone.[78]
Zac Goldsmith was cleared of intentional wrongdoing over election spending after Channel 4 highlighted apparent discrepancies in his expenses claims. Goldsmith insisted he had followed the same procedures as other candidates and countered by stating that Channel 4 engaged in sleazy unethical journalism.[79][80] The Bureau of Investigative Journalism complained to the Electoral Commission over the report about Goldsmith's expenses,[81] who ruled that Goldsmith had not intentionally broken any rules.[82][83]
Goldsmith clashed with presenter Jon Snow, who accused him of "prevaricating" in a confrontational live interview on Channel 4 News.[84][85][86] Both parties criticised each other in the aftermath. Snow suggested Goldsmith take the matter to OFCOM, which rejected Zac Goldsmith's complaint about Snow and Channel 4 News' conduct.[85][87]
Channel 4 questioned whether Goldsmith had under-reported the sums spent on signs, stickers and jackets used in his campaign, and claimed his campaign spending was much higher than other MPs they investigated. Goldsmith argued that this was because the expenditure was being spread across multiple campaigns "The formula we used is exactly the same formula ... as used by MPs and candidates around the country. Every decision we took was approved by electoral experts at Conservative Central Office". It was debated whether signs that said "Vote Zac Goldsmith" and "Vote Conservative" could be charged to the election budget for a local election candidate when that other candidate was not mentioned on the sign. Goldsmith response was that it had been "checked" and that was "standard practice" across the country. The second question was about jackets with "I back Zac" stickers on the back. "They cost £2,168 but you only said you paid (spent) £170". Goldsmith said the stickers cost £170 and the jackets were "off the shelf" and would be reused for other campaigns.[88]
Channel 4 News presented their case online including scans of the spending documents.[89] Goldsmith has posted a response on his blog.[90] On 21 July 2010, the Electoral Commission announced that, following their initial 5-day assessment, they have decided to upgrade the investigation to the status of "case under review"[91] and that they will make enquiries "in order to establish the facts of the matter".[92] The Commission reported in December 2010, deciding that in "the absence of any evidence of intentional circumvention of the rules, we do not consider that a referral to the police is appropriate."[93] but they did observe that the cost-sharing between general election and local elections contests was "not consistent with the Commission's guidance or good practice", that the submission was "unclear in places" and Goldsmith's campaign may have overspent by £966 in the short campaign
Born in London, the son of billionaire businessman and financier Sir James Goldsmith of the Goldsmith family, he was educated at Eton College and the Cambridge Centre for Sixth-form Studies. In 1998, his uncle Edward Goldsmith made him editor of The Ecologist, a position he retained until 2007.[3] Goldsmith was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Quality of Life Policy Group in 2005, co-authoring its report published in 2007.[4] Goldsmith was placed on the Conservative "A-List" of potential candidates in 2006,[5][6] and then in March 2007, he was selected through an open primary to contest the constituency of Richmond Park against the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP, Susan Kramer.[7] At the 2010 general election, he was elected to Parliament winning the seat with a majority of 4,091 votes.[8]
At the 2015 general election, Goldsmith was returned to the Commons with a majority of 23,015, an increase of almost 19,000 votes since 2010, against his nearest opponent.[9] He was chosen as the Conservative candidate for the 2016 election for mayor of London, which he subsequently lost to Labour candidate Sadiq Khan in the second round by 315,529 votes. His campaign was denounced by critics for being "divisive" by focusing on attempts to link Khan to Islamist extremists.[10]
He announced his resignation as a Member of Parliament following the Government's decision in October 2016, to approve the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. His resignation triggered a by-election in the Richmond Park constituency in which Goldsmith stood as an independent candidate.[11] He was defeated by Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats.[12] After Theresa May called a snap general election in April 2017, to be held on 8 June 2017, Goldsmith was reselected as the Conservative Party candidate for Richmond Park and won with a narrow majority of 45 votes.[13]
Goldsmith was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment and International Development on 27 July 2019 and has attended Cabinet as Minister of State since 10 September 2019.[14] He appeared on LBC's list of the 'Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives of 2019', at number 98.[15] Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats gained 7,766 more votes than Goldsmith in the 2019 general election (despite the election providing the Conservative Party's largest share of votes since 1979) and won back the Richmond Park seat
Early life
Childhood
Born on 20 January 1975 in London,[17] Goldsmith is the middle child of Sir James Goldsmith, a member of the Jewish Goldsmith family of German Jewish and French descent, and his third wife, the Anglo-Irish aristocrat, Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart. Goldsmith was brought up at Ormeley Lodge in Ham with his siblings, Jemima and Ben.[18] He has five paternal half-siblings,[19] and is also half-brother to Robin and India Jane Birley, his mother's children from her first marriage.[20] Goldsmith has stated “I was brought up by my father to identify very strongly as Jewish."[21]
As a child, Goldsmith was an avid reader of naturalist Gerald Durrell's works[22] and developed a committed passion for David Attenborough's wildlife programmes.[23] He later recalled, "He was my hero, and it was his work that made me fall in love with the natural world".[24] His ecological interests were nurtured further when his father gave him a copy of Helena Norberg-Hodge's book Ancient Futures, with a note saying: "This will change your life".[25]
His family has a long history in politics. Goldsmith's grandfathers were both Conservative Members of Parliament: his paternal grandfather Frank Goldsmith was a Conservative MP, while his mother's father Viscount Castlereagh (later the 8th Marquess of Londonderry) represented County Down as a Unionist MP in the British House of Commons. His maternal great-grandfather, the 7th Lord Londonderry, was an Ulster Unionist politician. Another maternal ancestor was Viscount Castlereagh, Chief Secretary for Ireland and British Foreign Secretary. Before 2005, Goldsmith supported and helped with the campaigns of Michael Gove MP and Joanne Cash.[26]
Goldsmith was educated at four independent schools: King's House School in Richmond and The Mall School in Twickenham, followed by Hawtreys School, near Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire,[27] and Eton College in Berkshire;[22] He was expelled from Eton after drugs were found in his room.[28][29] Goldsmith later said of the event "Cannabis was found in my room. I was guilty throughout my time at school, but on this one occasion I was innocent. But it seemed pointless at the time to put up any resistance. I learned my lesson, I think you could say."[30] He went on to achieve four A-Levels at Cambridge Centre for Sixth-Form Studies.[25][31]
Goldsmith travelled throughout the world with the International Honours Programme (courtesy of his uncle Edward Goldsmith),[32] including to Thailand, New Zealand, Mexico, Hungary and Italy. Goldsmith lived in California for two years, working at first for the think tank Redefining Progress[33] from 1995 to 1996, and later as a researcher for Norberg-Hodge's International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC) during 1996–98. While working with ISEC, Goldsmith travelled to India, spending a short time on an ashram in Rajasthan and later lived in Ladakh for six months, studying traditional cultures and helping run a tourist education programme.[34][35]
Writing and journalism
In 1997, Goldsmith was appointed Reviews Editor of The Ecologist by his uncle Edward Goldsmith, the magazine's founding editor, owner and publisher.[36][37][38] In 1998, he became Editor-in-Chief and Director of The Ecologist but did not draw a salary.[25] He relaunched The Ecologist on 28 March 2000 in a new format, transforming its academic journal-style into a current affairs-magazine format, thereby broadening its appeal and trebling its circulation.[25][39] In January 2006, when assuming a post as the reviewer of Conservative environmental policies for David Cameron, who had recently become party leader, it was announced that Goldsmith was to step down as editor.[40]
Goldsmith has spoken and written about environmental causes in Britain and has twice been invited to debate at the Oxford Union, where he delivered keynote addresses.[41][26] He writes for UK newspapers including the Daily Mail,[42] London Evening Standard,[43] Observer[44] and The Telegraph.[45][46] He is also a contributor to magazines such as the New Statesman[47] and Quintessentially Magazine.[48]
As a contributing author of the book We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples, published in late 2009,[49] which examines the culture of peoples around the world, he explores global diversities and threats facing humankind. Among the other contributors are western writers, such as Laurens van der Post, Noam Chomsky, Claude Lévi-Strauss and indigenous persons, such as Davi Kopenawa Yanomami and Roy Sesana. The book is composed of a collection of photographs, statements from tribal people, and essays from international authors, politicians, philosophers, poets, artists, journalists, anthropologists, environmentalists and photojournalists. In his essay, Goldsmith writes about how his travel around the world in his youth gave him first-hand experience of the misery brought by the promise of western "progress" and "development". He reflects on the culture of tribal people and, in reverence to it, urges people in the modern world to question what "progress" can really mean.[50]
Non-domiciled status
Prior to becoming an MP, Goldsmith had non-domiciled status;[51] in February 2016, The Evening Standard quoted Goldsmith stating that non-domiciled status let individuals "make lifestyle choices to avoid paying tax" and saying "I've never been accused of not paying tax."[52] In 2009, however, Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said that Goldsmith was likely to have avoided paying £580,000 per year for each year in the previous decade as a result of his non-dom status.[53]
In 2005, Goldsmith joined the Conservative Party,[54] stating that he regarded its main rival, the Labour Party, as "the party of big business".[55] After the Conservatives lost the 2005 general election to Labour, they elected David Cameron as their new leader.[54] Goldsmith thought highly of Cameron, expressing the view that while he was generally "cynical about politicians", he felt that Cameron was different.[56] Describing Cameron, he said "I don't know David Cameron very well... [but] I like him. I think you can judge a book by its cover... [and] I think the cover is pretty good."[55]
In December 2005, Cameron approved Goldsmith's appointment as Deputy Chairman, under former Environment Secretary John Gummer, of the Quality of Life Policy Group.[54][23] The group was tasked with the responsibility of examining quality of life matters such as carbon emissions and climate change, clean air and transport with a view to formulating Conservative policy.[57] The group's 600-page report, jointly authored by Goldsmith and Gummer, was presented at the Royal Institute of British Architects on 13 September 2007.[58] For Cameron, this move was an important part of rebranding the party to escape its reputation as the "Nasty Party".[54]
The report's[59] recommendations included increased taxes on short-haul flights and highly polluting vehicles, with the proceeds being used to cut the cost of clean alternatives; rebates on Stamp Duty and Council Tax for people who improve the energy efficiency of their home; and in addition it proposed a moratorium on airport expansions.[60] The report drew criticism from Labour and from the UKIP MEP Roger Helmer, who termed the proposals "anti-Conservative",[61] as well as from David Wilshire, at that time the Conservative MP for Spelthorne near Heathrow, who contrary to the Conservative leadership stance was in favour of a third runway.[62] The report's proposals also attracted comment from the aviation industry.[63] Cameron commended the report, pledging that many of its recommendations should be included in the Conservative manifesto.[60]
Parliamentary career: 2010–2015
His place on the roster of parliamentary candidates was announced around the time of the Conservative Party's 2005 Annual Conference, where he stated he saw no contradiction between his interest in environmental issues and being a Conservative.[64] Around the same time, he commented in an interview on his backing of the Conservative Party, arguing the Labour Party had evolved into being shaped by big business and big lobby groups interests[3] and had become too authoritarian and centrist.[23] Cameron recognised Goldsmith as a good prospective parliamentary candidate and in May 2006 placed him on an 'A-List' of young and diverse candidates whom he wanted to stand for the Conservatives in the 2010 general election
The Conservatives initially placed Goldsmith as their candidate for the safe seat at East Hampshire.[55] Goldsmith felt uneasy about representing this constituency, with which he had no previous connection, and thus pulled out to avoid carpetbagging.[55][65] He then entered the Richmond Park Conservative Association's open primary, which he won in March 2007.[55][26]
In 2008 Goldsmith was asked to comment about donations of £7,000 to his Party while not on the electoral register. Commenting on the issue, Goldsmith explained: "everything has been declared on time and accurately; however, for a few weeks last year I was not on the Electoral Roll, my name having been removed from Kensington and Chelsea's voter list, given that I was in the process of signing up for Richmond. Whatever was donated in that time may have to be repaid, but there is no suggestion that anything other was improprietous".[66]
In late 2009, the press asserted that Goldsmith had non-domiciled status and that as a London resident, albeit a discretionary beneficiary, he has use of British properties through a trust set up by his late father.[67] Goldsmith responded, in a statement about the suggestion of tax avoidance, that he has "always chosen to be tax resident in the UK" and virtually all his income was paid into British banks. Of non-dom status as a result of his late father's international status, Goldsmith added that he had already instructed his accountants to relinquish it of his own volition by early 2009.[68][69]
Goldsmith defeated the Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer in Richmond Park at the 2010 general election; he saw a 7% swing in the vote go to him.[70] The election resulted in a hung parliament and the formation of a coalition government led by Cameron and the Conservatives.[71] At the next general election, in May 2015, he increased his majority from 4,091 to 23,015 votes. He achieved an increase of 8.5 percent of the share of the vote from the 2010 general election, receiving a total of 58.2 percent of all votes cast by his constituents. This was the biggest increase in majority of any MP at the 2015 general election.[72][73]
Goldsmith co-ordinated a cross-party group of MPs to call for a Hillsborough-style inquiry into child sex abuse.[74] He co-wrote a letter to Home Secretary Theresa May demanding a full independent inquiry with six other MPs: Tim Loughton, Tom Watson, Simon Danczuk, John Hemming, Tessa Munt and Caroline Lucas. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, initially rejected the call but was subsequently forced to concede, after 145 further MPs added their names to Goldsmith et al.'s letter.[75]
In December 2015, Goldsmith voted in support of the government's plans to expand the aerial bombing of Islamic State targets.[76] He also endorsed a government bill that would have restricted trade union's abilities to strike.[77]
Electoral spending
Goldsmith is known to be one of the wealthiest MPs in Parliament, given that the bequest from his father, Sir James Goldsmith, who died shortly after the 1997 general election with a £1.2bn fortune, is subject to much scrutiny. Some tax experts have speculated Goldsmith's income could amount to as much as £5m per year from the trust left to him alone.[78]
Zac Goldsmith was cleared of intentional wrongdoing over election spending after Channel 4 highlighted apparent discrepancies in his expenses claims. Goldsmith insisted he had followed the same procedures as other candidates and countered by stating that Channel 4 engaged in sleazy unethical journalism.[79][80] The Bureau of Investigative Journalism complained to the Electoral Commission over the report about Goldsmith's expenses,[81] who ruled that Goldsmith had not intentionally broken any rules.[82][83]
Goldsmith clashed with presenter Jon Snow, who accused him of "prevaricating" in a confrontational live interview on Channel 4 News.[84][85][86] Both parties criticised each other in the aftermath. Snow suggested Goldsmith take the matter to OFCOM, which rejected Zac Goldsmith's complaint about Snow and Channel 4 News' conduct.[85][87]
Channel 4 questioned whether Goldsmith had under-reported the sums spent on signs, stickers and jackets used in his campaign, and claimed his campaign spending was much higher than other MPs they investigated. Goldsmith argued that this was because the expenditure was being spread across multiple campaigns "The formula we used is exactly the same formula ... as used by MPs and candidates around the country. Every decision we took was approved by electoral experts at Conservative Central Office". It was debated whether signs that said "Vote Zac Goldsmith" and "Vote Conservative" could be charged to the election budget for a local election candidate when that other candidate was not mentioned on the sign. Goldsmith response was that it had been "checked" and that was "standard practice" across the country. The second question was about jackets with "I back Zac" stickers on the back. "They cost £2,168 but you only said you paid (spent) £170". Goldsmith said the stickers cost £170 and the jackets were "off the shelf" and would be reused for other campaigns.[88]
Channel 4 News presented their case online including scans of the spending documents.[89] Goldsmith has posted a response on his blog.[90] On 21 July 2010, the Electoral Commission announced that, following their initial 5-day assessment, they have decided to upgrade the investigation to the status of "case under review"[91] and that they will make enquiries "in order to establish the facts of the matter".[92] The Commission reported in December 2010, deciding that in "the absence of any evidence of intentional circumvention of the rules, we do not consider that a referral to the police is appropriate."[93] but they did observe that the cost-sharing between general election and local elections contests was "not consistent with the Commission's guidance or good practice", that the submission was "unclear in places" and Goldsmith's campaign may have overspent by £966 in the short campaign
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