Zac Goldsmith
Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park is a British politician, life peer and journalist who served as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment from September 2022 to June 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he was its candidate at the 2016 London mayoral election and was Member of Parliament for Richmond Park from 2010 to 2016 and 2017 to 2019. Ideologically characterised as having liberal and libertarian views, he is known for his support for environmentalism and localism.
Born in London into the Goldschmidt family, the son of billionaire businessman and financier Sir James Goldsmith, he was privately educated at both 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. Goldsmith was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Quality of Life Policy Group in 2005, co-authoring its report published in 2007. Goldsmith was placed on the Conservative A-List of potential candidates in 2006 and, in March 2007, was selected through an open primary to contest the constituency of Richmond Park against incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer. At the 2010 general election, he was elected to Parliament winning the seat with a majority of 4,091 votes.
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. He was chosen as the Conservative candidate for the 2016 election for mayor of London, which he subsequently lost to Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party. Goldsmith announced his resignation as an MP following the government's decision in October 2016 to approve 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. He was defeated by Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats with a majority of 1,872 votes. After Theresa May called the 2017 general election, Goldsmith was reselected as the Conservative Party candidate for Richmond Park and won with a narrow majority of 45 votes.
Goldsmith was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment and International Development on 27 July 2019 and was promoted to Minister of State with the right to attend Cabinet on 10 September 2019. He was defeated at the 2019 general election, again by Sarah Olney, with a majority of 7,766 votes. After the election, Boris Johnson awarded Goldsmith with a life peerage, making him a member of the House of Lords and allowing him to retain his ministerial position. On 13 February 2020, he acquired additional responsibility for the Pacific. After Liz Truss became Prime Minister in September 2022, Goldsmith became Minister of State for Asia, Energy, Climate and Environment, later being reappointed by Rishi Sunak with new responsibilities for overseas territories and the Commonwealth. He resigned in June 2023 in opposition to what he claimed was the Sunak ministry's disinterest in environmental policy.
Early life and career
Goldsmith was born on 20 January 1975 at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in Chelsea, London. He is the middle child of Sir James Goldsmith, a member of the Goldsmith family of German Jewish and French descent, and his then mistress and later third wife, the Anglo-Irish aristocrat, Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart, the daughter of the 8th Marquess of Londonderry. Goldsmith has stated "I was brought up by my father to identify very strongly as Jewish." He was raised at Ormeley Lodge in Ham with his siblings, Jemima and Ben. He is half-brother to Robin and India Jane Birley, his mother's children from her first marriage. As a child, he was an avid reader of naturalist Gerald Durrell's works and developed a committed passion for David Attenborough's wildlife documentaries. He later recalled, "He was my hero, and it was his work that made me fall in love with the natural world". 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".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, and Eton College in Berkshire; he was expelled from Eton after drugs were found in his room. Goldsmith later said of the event "Cannabis and snus were 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." He went on to achieve four A-Levels at Cambridge Centre for Sixth-Form Studies.
Goldsmith travelled throughout the world with the International Honours Programme, 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 from 1995 to 1996, and later as a researcher for Norberg-Hodge's International Society for Ecology and Culture 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.
In 1997, Goldsmith was appointed reviews editor of The Ecologist by his uncle Edward Goldsmith, the magazine's founding editor, owner and publisher. In 1998, he became editor-in-chief and director of The Ecologist but did not draw a salary. 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. In January 2006, when assuming a post as the reviewer of the Conservative Party's environmental policies, it was announced that he was to step down as editor.
Political career
Joining the Conservatives: 2005–2010
Goldsmith joined the Conservative Party in 2005. He had previously supported the election campaigns of Michael Gove and Joanne Cash. He stated he regarded Labour as "the party of big business" which had become shaped by big lobbying groups and which had become too authoritarian and centrist. After the Conservatives lost the 2005 general election to Labour, they elected David Cameron as their new leader. Goldsmith thought highly of Cameron, expressing the view that while he was generally "cynical about politicians", he felt that Cameron was different. Describing Cameron, he said "I don't know David Cameron very well... I like him. I think you can judge a book by its cover... I think the cover is pretty good." At the 2005 Conservative annual conference, Goldsmith stated he saw no contradiction between his interest in environmental issues and being a Conservative.In December 2005, David Cameron approved Goldsmith's appointment as deputy chairman of the Quality of Life Policy Group, under former Environment Secretary John Gummer. The group was tasked with examining matters such as carbon emissions, climate change, clean air and transport with a view to formulating Conservative policy. 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. Its proposals included a moratorium on airport expansions; taxing short-haul flights and highly polluting vehicles, with proceeds being used to cut the cost of clean alternatives; and rebates on stamp duty and council tax for people who improved the energy efficiency of their homes. The report drew criticism from Labour, several Conservative politicians and the aviation industry. For Cameron, the report was an important part of rebranding the party to escape its reputation as the "Nasty Party" and pledged many of its recommendations would be included in the manifesto.
David Cameron recognised Goldsmith as a good prospective parliamentary candidate and in May 2006 placed him on the Conservative A-List of young and diverse candidates whom he wanted to stand at the 2010 general election. The Conservatives initially placed Goldsmith as their candidate for the safe seat of East Hampshire. Goldsmith felt uneasy about representing this constituency, with which he had no previous connection, and thus pulled out to avoid carpetbagging. He then entered the Richmond Park Conservative Association's open primary, which he won in March 2007.
File:Revolve Eco Rally 2007.jpg|thumb|Stirling Moss, Goldsmith, Charles, Prince of Wales and event founder Steven Glaser at the launch of the annual Revolve Eco-Rally on U.N. World Environment Day, 3 June 2007
In 2007, Goldsmith opposed the opening of a superstore by supermarket chain Sainsbury's in Barnes. He spearheaded a referendum conducted by the Electoral Reform Society to poll local residents on the issue, working closely with a local campaign group. With a turnout of 61.6%, more than 4,000 residents, who made up 85% of the votes cast, came forward to oppose the construction of the store at White Hart Lane. Sainsbury's ultimately opened the branch after revising its planning application.
File:Zac Goldsmith KewGardens.jpg|thumb|left|Goldsmith campaigning at a green rally outside Kew Gardens Tube Station at Kew, London in June 2008
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".
In late 2009, the press asserted that Goldsmith had non-domiciled status and that as a London resident, albeit a discretionary beneficiary, he had use of British properties through a trust set up by his late father. 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. However, Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, 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. 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."
In 2010, the Labour government sought to recover its expenditure on a programme of remedial works on the public car parks in Richmond Park through the introduction of parking fees for visitors to the royal park. Goldsmith organised a rally attended by over 1,000 people in the royal park on 30 January 2010 in conjunction with other local Conservatives to protest the proposed charging.