blue eyed boy
business
b lu e e ye d b oy Mayoral hopeful Zac Goldsmith on his ambitious plans to reduce street pollution, and why small businesses need to be protected b y L o r n a D av i e s
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onservative MP and 2016 London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith is talking to me from the top deck of “a bright blue emblazoned bus with my picture on it.” “Hey Lorna, can you hear me? It’s a bit noisy,” he asks. I can, his Eton-educated diction is serving him well while he whizzes through London’s streets. It’s 49 days until voters take to the polling booths, and the last YouGov poll showed that Goldsmith’s main rival, Labour’s Sadiq Khan, is ahead with 32 per cent of the vote. Goldsmith has a 25 per cent share, and is campaigning hard to increase it. The average day at the moment for the Richmond Park and North Kingston MP is “very early, till very late, talking to as many people as I possibly can, and taking advice along the way.” One of his main policies is one that certainly affects Mayfair and St James’s. I barely mention the word “pollution” and Goldsmith takes me through an impassioned ideal for his plans as Mayor. “There are around 10,000 people a year dying early in London because of air pollution, so it’s a massive issue and people really care and expect action from the next mayor,” Goldsmith says. The question is how it’s done. According to Goldsmith, the tools and budget are there. His plan is to make every bus in London at least an Ultra Low Emission vehicle by 2025; to make all new black cabs electric by 2018 and to retrofit existing cabs and private hire vehicles “in a very cost-effective way
“I would bring in a Borisbike equivalent for electric cars - a greater Londonwide green car club, which would take a huge number of cars off the road”
to reduce their emissions by around 80 per cent.” Goldsmith wants to work with Transport for London to mandate that only the cleanest retrofitted works vehicles, which currently produce 14 per cent of London’s pollution, are allowed on the road. “Given that the cost of electric cars is coming down very quickly and will continue to, just like solar power, the main anxiety people have now relates to charging infrastructure. I’ve said that as a priority, I would ensure that the whole of greater London has a comprehensive charging infrastructure, and also that I bring in a Boris-bike equivalent for electric cars – a greater London-wide green car club, which would take a huge number of cars off the road.” Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are also an issue; Goldsmith wants to take as many as possible off the road. “L. Lynch, a haulage company that I went to see this morning, are using consolidation centres, are making use of rail and have reduced the number of their HGVs on our roads by 70 per cent. So there is a lot we can do. It’s crazy that people are competing with heavy goods vehicles during rush hour, it’s crazy for our environment, it’s unsafe for people using their bikes, and it causes massive congestion, so that’s something that needs a lot of effort.” Goldsmith is known for his environmental views, and has been particularly vocal in his opposition to Heathrow expansion. In 2012 he vowed to stand down as an MP if the government backed it. His environmental leanings led him to become the editor of The Ecologist magazine in 1998, a post he kept until 2007, when he began to appear on A-lists of potential mayoral candidates. “I enjoyed being in your shoes,” he says. “The thing I enjoyed most about being at The Ecologist was the interviews because it meant I got to meet some very lively and interesting people. I definitely didn’t think I would be a mayoral candidate when I was at the magazine. I was asked the question before the elections, by multiple people, but I never really took it seriously until a month or so after the general election. Not because I wouldn’t have wanted to do it, it just seemed like a very remote possibility. I love being an MP, I’ve enjoyed getting stuff done, but you can get a whole lot more done as the elected mayor of the city.” Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith was born in London in 1975. The son of billionaire businessman James Goldsmith, he was elected MP for Richmond Park in 2010 and increased his majority in 2015 – a constituency that was previously a Lib Dem stronghold. His promises include ensuring 50,000 new homes are built every year in London by 2020, but he has also vowed to protect greenbelt land. One of his campaigns for his constituency was protecting smaller shops, which brings me to the Mayfair-related topic of smaller, creative industries and art galleries that are steadily being pushed out of Mayfair due to rising rents. “This is a real worry, not just for Mayfair but across the board. London is a very dynamic place, it’s got masses of really creative people, and if those people
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are priced out of their own city, London ceases to be the dynamic and exciting place that it is,” he says. “It’s true of art galleries, but it’s also true of art studios, small tech start-ups, so many types of businesses. We need to protect those spaces. That partly means working with local authorities to ensure they use every tool they have to protect businesses which are viable, popular and which bring character and life to a community.” According to Goldsmith, the issue is related to the new office to residential development rules – allowing offices in some parts of London (Mayfair currently not included) to be converted to residential more easily. Goldsmith is “pushing the government to rethink” the rules. “In my borough in Richmond, we have lost about a third of our office space in two years, which is an appalling loss in my view. It’s a piece of legislation which needs to be rethought.” As one in four Londoners were still “undecided” on the last YouGov poll, I ask Goldsmith what he would say to persuade them to opt for him on May 5. “I would encourage people to look at my record as an MP. They will see I was elected in 2010 on the back of a whole load of promises, and I kept them all. I delivered to my constituents.”
“London is a very dynamic place, it’s got masses of really creative people, and if those people are priced out, London ceases to be dynamic and exciting”
T h e o t h e r m ayo r a l c a n d i d at e s Labour - Sadiq Khan The son of a bus driver, Khan grew up on a south London housing estate. He attended a local comprehensive school before going to university and training as a lawyer, and went on to become a human rights solicitor, representing claims of racism against the Met. Announcing his decision to run as mayor, he called Boris Johnson a “red-carpet mayor”, whereas he would “fight for all Londoners”.
Green - Sian Berry Berry is the only Green councillor on the Labour-run borough of Camden, and also ran for City Hall in 2008. She worked in medical communications before politics. She has said that as mayor she would get rid of City Airport, establish a renters’ union, and introduce “flat fares” across London travel zones.
Liberal Democrats Caroline Pidgeon Pidgeon is the only candidate currently sitting at City Hall, where she has been an Assembly Member since 2008. Launching her campaign, she said she wanted to tackle the barriers that make London “a city that serves the few, not the many”.
O t h e r c a n d i d at e s i n c l u d e : Peter Whittle, UKIP George Galloway, Respect Winston McKenzie, English Democrats David Furness, BNP
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b lu e e ye d b oy Mayoral hopeful Zac Goldsmith on his ambitious plans to reduce street pollution, and why small businesses need to be protected b y L o r n a D av i e s
92 |
MT Apr16 92-94 Business zac.indd 92
24/03/2016 15:33
C
onservative MP and 2016 London mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith is talking to me from the top deck of “a bright blue emblazoned bus with my picture on it.” “Hey Lorna, can you hear me? It’s a bit noisy,” he asks. I can, his Eton-educated diction is serving him well while he whizzes through London’s streets. It’s 49 days until voters take to the polling booths, and the last YouGov poll showed that Goldsmith’s main rival, Labour’s Sadiq Khan, is ahead with 32 per cent of the vote. Goldsmith has a 25 per cent share, and is campaigning hard to increase it. The average day at the moment for the Richmond Park and North Kingston MP is “very early, till very late, talking to as many people as I possibly can, and taking advice along the way.” One of his main policies is one that certainly affects Mayfair and St James’s. I barely mention the word “pollution” and Goldsmith takes me through an impassioned ideal for his plans as Mayor. “There are around 10,000 people a year dying early in London because of air pollution, so it’s a massive issue and people really care and expect action from the next mayor,” Goldsmith says. The question is how it’s done. According to Goldsmith, the tools and budget are there. His plan is to make every bus in London at least an Ultra Low Emission vehicle by 2025; to make all new black cabs electric by 2018 and to retrofit existing cabs and private hire vehicles “in a very cost-effective way
“I would bring in a Borisbike equivalent for electric cars - a greater Londonwide green car club, which would take a huge number of cars off the road”
to reduce their emissions by around 80 per cent.” Goldsmith wants to work with Transport for London to mandate that only the cleanest retrofitted works vehicles, which currently produce 14 per cent of London’s pollution, are allowed on the road. “Given that the cost of electric cars is coming down very quickly and will continue to, just like solar power, the main anxiety people have now relates to charging infrastructure. I’ve said that as a priority, I would ensure that the whole of greater London has a comprehensive charging infrastructure, and also that I bring in a Boris-bike equivalent for electric cars – a greater London-wide green car club, which would take a huge number of cars off the road.” Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) are also an issue; Goldsmith wants to take as many as possible off the road. “L. Lynch, a haulage company that I went to see this morning, are using consolidation centres, are making use of rail and have reduced the number of their HGVs on our roads by 70 per cent. So there is a lot we can do. It’s crazy that people are competing with heavy goods vehicles during rush hour, it’s crazy for our environment, it’s unsafe for people using their bikes, and it causes massive congestion, so that’s something that needs a lot of effort.” Goldsmith is known for his environmental views, and has been particularly vocal in his opposition to Heathrow expansion. In 2012 he vowed to stand down as an MP if the government backed it. His environmental leanings led him to become the editor of The Ecologist magazine in 1998, a post he kept until 2007, when he began to appear on A-lists of potential mayoral candidates. “I enjoyed being in your shoes,” he says. “The thing I enjoyed most about being at The Ecologist was the interviews because it meant I got to meet some very lively and interesting people. I definitely didn’t think I would be a mayoral candidate when I was at the magazine. I was asked the question before the elections, by multiple people, but I never really took it seriously until a month or so after the general election. Not because I wouldn’t have wanted to do it, it just seemed like a very remote possibility. I love being an MP, I’ve enjoyed getting stuff done, but you can get a whole lot more done as the elected mayor of the city.” Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith was born in London in 1975. The son of billionaire businessman James Goldsmith, he was elected MP for Richmond Park in 2010 and increased his majority in 2015 – a constituency that was previously a Lib Dem stronghold. His promises include ensuring 50,000 new homes are built every year in London by 2020, but he has also vowed to protect greenbelt land. One of his campaigns for his constituency was protecting smaller shops, which brings me to the Mayfair-related topic of smaller, creative industries and art galleries that are steadily being pushed out of Mayfair due to rising rents. “This is a real worry, not just for Mayfair but across the board. London is a very dynamic place, it’s got masses of really creative people, and if those people
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business
are priced out of their own city, London ceases to be the dynamic and exciting place that it is,” he says. “It’s true of art galleries, but it’s also true of art studios, small tech start-ups, so many types of businesses. We need to protect those spaces. That partly means working with local authorities to ensure they use every tool they have to protect businesses which are viable, popular and which bring character and life to a community.” According to Goldsmith, the issue is related to the new office to residential development rules – allowing offices in some parts of London (Mayfair currently not included) to be converted to residential more easily. Goldsmith is “pushing the government to rethink” the rules. “In my borough in Richmond, we have lost about a third of our office space in two years, which is an appalling loss in my view. It’s a piece of legislation which needs to be rethought.” As one in four Londoners were still “undecided” on the last YouGov poll, I ask Goldsmith what he would say to persuade them to opt for him on May 5. “I would encourage people to look at my record as an MP. They will see I was elected in 2010 on the back of a whole load of promises, and I kept them all. I delivered to my constituents.”
“London is a very dynamic place, it’s got masses of really creative people, and if those people are priced out, London ceases to be dynamic and exciting”
T h e o t h e r m ayo r a l c a n d i d at e s Labour - Sadiq Khan The son of a bus driver, Khan grew up on a south London housing estate. He attended a local comprehensive school before going to university and training as a lawyer, and went on to become a human rights solicitor, representing claims of racism against the Met. Announcing his decision to run as mayor, he called Boris Johnson a “red-carpet mayor”, whereas he would “fight for all Londoners”.
Green - Sian Berry Berry is the only Green councillor on the Labour-run borough of Camden, and also ran for City Hall in 2008. She worked in medical communications before politics. She has said that as mayor she would get rid of City Airport, establish a renters’ union, and introduce “flat fares” across London travel zones.
Liberal Democrats Caroline Pidgeon Pidgeon is the only candidate currently sitting at City Hall, where she has been an Assembly Member since 2008. Launching her campaign, she said she wanted to tackle the barriers that make London “a city that serves the few, not the many”.
O t h e r c a n d i d at e s i n c l u d e : Peter Whittle, UKIP George Galloway, Respect Winston McKenzie, English Democrats David Furness, BNP
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