Zac Goldsmith

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Frank Zacharias Goldsmith (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, animal rights campaigner, and journalist who served as Minister of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and International Development until 2019.

He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park from 2017 to 2019, previously serving the position between 2010 and 2016.

He was a member of the Conservative Party of London and was its nominee in the 2016 London mayoral election, but he lost to Labour Party Sadiq Khan.

Goldsmith is known for his environmentalist and localist views, and he has been portrayed as liberal and libertarian. 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.

Edward Goldsmith, his uncle, made him editor of The Ecologist in 1998, a position he held until 2007.

Goldsmith was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Quality of Life Policy Group in 2005 and co-authoring the study, which was published in 2007. In 2006, Goldsmith was included on the Conservative "A-List" of potential candidates, and then in March 2007, he was chosen from an open primary to challenge Richmond Park's constituency against incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer.

Family and personal life

Goldsmith has been described as having a "soft voice and unhurried demeanor." Analyst Dave Hill likened Goldsmith's as "the courtly patrician who [would] have] recruited a large crowd to do his fighting for him."

Goldsmith is said to have inherited between £200 million and £300 million from his father's death in 1997. Some tax experts estimated that his income would grow from the trust left to him alone in a 2009 article in The Guardian. After Richard Benyon, he was the second richest member of Parliament in the 2010-2015 session. He likes gambling; he won £53,000 in a televised card game in 2004 and has a financial interest in the Mayfair-based bookmakers Fitzdares. In addition to being a backgammon and poker expert, he also has other sporting passions, including cricket.

Goldsmith was married for ten years to Sheherazade Ventura-Bentley, with three children, including two daughters, Uma Romaine and Thyra, and one son, James. The couple married in London on June 5th, 1999 at St Simon Zelotes Church. In April 2009, the Goldsmith couple separated and received a note nisi on May 10, 2010. "Best-Dressed Couples" was a list of Sheherazade and Goldsmith in Vanity Fair's 67th Annual International Best-Dressed List. In 2000, Goldsmith announced that he wore Savile Row suits that belonged to his late father. In the gossip columns, his exile from Ventura-Bentley was well-covered.

Alice Rothschild, a banking heiress, married Goldsmith in his constituency at London Wetland Centre in 2013. They have a daughter, Dolly, who was born in July 2013. Max, their second child, was born in January 2016. Alice gave birth to Edie, a daughter born on April 25, 2017. Kate Rothschild and his brother, Ben Goldsmith, were not married until 2012.

He and his family live in Barnes.

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Early life and career

Goldsmith was born in Chelsea, London, on January 20th, 1975 at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. He is the middle child of Sir James Goldsmith, a member of the Goldsmith family of German Jewish and French descent, and his third wife, Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart, the daughter of Londonderry's 8th Marquess. "I was brought up by my father to identify very strongly as Jewish," Goldsmith wrote. He and his siblings, Jemima and Ben, were born at Ormeley Lodge in Ham. He is half-brother to Robin and India Jane Birley, his mother's children from his first marriage. He was an avid reader of naturalist Gerald Durrell's books as an adult and he developed a devoted passion for David Attenborough's wildlife documentaries. "He was my hero, and his work made me fall in love with the natural world," he later explained. His environmental interests were nourished further when his father gave him a copy of Helena Norberg-Hodge's book Ancient Futures, with a note that "this will change your life."

Goldsmith was educated at four independent schools in Richmond, West Sussex, including King's House School and The Mall School, Hawtreys School, near Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, and Eton College in Berkshire; he was suspended from Eton after drugs were discovered in his classroom. "Cannabis was discovered in my room," Goldsmith later described the occasion. I was delinquent throughout my time at school, but this time I was innocent. But it seemed pointless at the time to put up any resistance. I learned my lesson, I believe you could say." He went on to receive four A-Levels at Cambridge Centre for Sixth-Form Studies.

Goldsmith was on tour around the world on the International Honours Programme, including visits to Thailand, New Zealand, Mexico, Hungary, and Italy. Goldsmith lived in California for two years, first for Redefining Progress from 1995 to 1996, and later as a researcher for Norberg-Hodge's International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC) in 1996-1998. Goldsmith travelled to India, spending a short time on an ashram in Rajasthan and later lived in Ladakh for six months, investigating traditional cultures and assisting with the establishment of a tourist education program while working with ISEC.

Edward Goldsmith, the magazine's founding editor, founder, and publisher, was appointed reviews editor of The Ecologist in 1997 by Goldsmith. He became editor-in-chief and director of The Ecologist in 1998, but did not receive a paycheck. On March 28, 2000, he relaunched The Ecologist in a new format, transforming the academic journal-style into a modern affairs-magazine style, thus broadening its reach and trebling its circulation. When taking over a role as the reviewer of the Conservative Party's environmental policies in January 2006, it was revealed that he would resign as editor.

Political career

In 2005, Goldsmith joined the Conservative Party. He had previously favoured Michael Gove and Joanne Cash's election campaigns. He described Labour as "the party of major industry" that had been shaped by powerful lobbying organizations and which had been too authoritarian and centrist. Since the Conservatives lost the 2005 general election to Labour, they elected David Cameron as their next leader. Goldsmith liked Cameron, saying that although he was generally "cynical about politicians," he felt differently about him. I don't know David Cameron so well [but] I like him." I think a book can be judged by its cover... [and] I think the book is pretty good.' Goldsmith said at the 2005 Conservative annual conference that there is no contradiction between his passion for environmental causes and being a Conservative.

David Cameron accepted Goldsmith's nomination as deputy chairman of the Quality of Life Policy Group in December 2005, under former Environment Secretary John Gummer. With the intention of determining Conservative policies, the group was charged with investigating topics such as carbon dioxide, climate change, clean air, and transportation. The institute of British Architects' 600-page report, jointly written by Goldsmith and Gummer, was unveiled at the Royal Institute of British Architects on September 13, 2007. A moratorium on airport expansions, taxing short-haul flights, and highly polluting vehicles, with proceeds being used to reduce the cost of clean alternatives; and rebates on stamp duty and council tax for people who increased the energy efficiency of their homes. Labour, several Conservative politicians, and the aviation industry all chastised the study. The study, for Cameron, was a significant part of the party's rebranding process as the "Nasty Party," and it promised that many of the party's proposals would be included in the manifesto, and that many of its recommendations would be included in the manifesto.

David Cameron regarded Goldsmith as a worthy prospective parliamentary candidate and placed him on the Conservative A-List of young and diverse candidates for 2010-General Election candidates in May 2006. Initially, the Conservatives selected Goldsmith as their nominee for the safe seat of East Hampshire. Goldsmith was uneasy about representing this constituency, with whom he had no previous involvement, and therefore opted to avoid carpetbagging. He then entered the Richmond Park Conservative Association's open primary, which he won in March 2007.

Goldsmith, a supermarket chain, Sainsbury's in Barnes, refused to open a superstore in 2007. He spearheaded a vote by the Electoral Reform Society to poll local voters on the issue, while still working closely with a local advocacy group. More than 4,000 people, who made up 85% of the vote cast, came out to oppose the building of the store at White Hart Lane, with a vote turnout of 66%. After updating its planning application, Sainsbury's eventually opened the branch.

In 2008, Goldsmith was asked to discuss donations of £7,000 to his Party even though he was not on the electoral register. "Everything has been announced on time and accurately," Goldsmith explained, though I was not on the Electoral Roll last year, as I was about to register for Richmond. Whatever was donated at the time may have to be repaid, but there is no suggestion that anything else was improprietious.

The media announced in late 2009 that Goldsmith had non-domiciled status and that, although a discretionary buyer, he had access to British properties through a trust set up by his late father. Goldsmith replied, in a statement about tax avoidance, that he had "always chosen to be a tax resident in the United Kingdom" and that virtually all of his money was paid into British banks. Goldsmith said that he had already ordered his accountants to relinquish it of his own volition by early 2009. However, Goldsmith's non-dom status, according to Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, was expected to have saved him £580,000 per year for each year in the previous decade. Goldsmith said in February 2016 that non-domiciled status enables people to "make lifestyle choices to avoid paying taxes" and that "I've never been found not paying taxes."

The Labour government recovered funds invested on a program of improvement on Richmond Park's public car parks by the introduction of parking fees for visitors. On January 30, 2010, Goldsmith staged a rally attended by over 1,000 people in the royal park in conjunction with other local Conservatives to protest the new charges.

At the 2010 general election, Goldsmith defeated Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer in Richmond Park; he saw a 7% swing in the vote. The result of the referendum resulted in a hung parliament and the establishment of a coalition government led by Cameron and the Conservatives. He grew his majority from 4,091 to 23,015 votes in May 2015 during the next general election. He gained 8.5% of the vote from the 2010 general election, receiving a total of 52% of all votes cast by his constituents. This was the highest increase in majority of any MP in the 2015 general election.

In July 2010, Channel 4 News challenged Goldsmith's under-reported the sums spent on signs, stickers, and jackets used in his campaign, claiming that his campaign expenditures were much higher than that of other MPs investigated. They submitted their complaint online, as well as scans of the spending documents. He denied following the same policies as other candidates, but countered by claiming that Channel 4 was engaged in sleazy unethical journalism. "The formula we used is exactly the same," he said, as used by politicians and candidates around the country. Every action we took was approved by the Conservative Central Office's electoral experts." It was debated if signs that read "Vote Zac Goldsmith" and "Vote Conservative" could be charged to a local election candidate's election fund, when the other candidate was not identified on the campaign. It had been "checked" and was "good practice" throughout the region, Goldsmith said. The second issue was about jackets with "I support Zac" stickers on the back. They cost £2,168, but you only said you paid (spent) £170." The stickers cost £170 and the jackets were "off the shelf" and would be repurposed for other campaigns, according to Goldsmith, who said the stickers were "off the shelf" and would be reprinted for other uses. In a tense live interview with Channel 4 News, Goldsmith clashed with host Jon Snow, accusing him of "prevaricating." In the aftermath, both groups chastised each other. Snow urged Goldsmith to OFCOM, which denied Goldsmith's complaint about Snow and Channel 4 News' conduct.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism screamed at the Electoral Commission over a paper exposing Goldsmith's spending. Following their initial 5-day inspection, the Commission revealed that they had to upgrade the probe to the status of "case under scrutiny" and launch inquiries "in order to establish the facts of the case." They reported in December 2010 saying in "the absence of any evidence of deliberate circumvention of the laws, we do not believe that a referral to the police is appropriate." However, they did discover that the cost-sharing between general election and municipal election contests was "not consistent with the Commission's recommendations or good practice," the report was "unclear in some instances," and Goldsmith's campaign may have exceeded £966 in the short campaign.

A cross-party group of MPs formed by Goldsmith to press for a Child sex investigation into Hillsborough, similar to the one that was launched. Tim Loughton, Tom Watson, Simon Danczuk, John Hemming, Tessa Munt, and Caroline Lucas co-wrote a letter to Home Secretary Theresa May calling for a complete independent inquiry. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, first refused the call but was later forced to relinquish after 145 more MPs referred to Goldsmith et al. Letter from the author.

Goldsmith supported the government's proposal to expand the aerial bombing of Islamic State targets in December 2015. He also supported a bill that would have banned trade unions from striking.

"I think people have had plenty of white male Etonians," Goldsmith said when deciding not to run in the 2016 London mayoral election. However, as the election neared, it became clear that he was the Conservative Party's top candidate. Goldsmith expressed interest in seeking the mayoralty of London on June 9, 2015, after receiving encouragement both from members of his own party and others (notably former Green Party Candidate Jenny Jones of Moulsecoomb). Goldsmith spent around £50,000 of his own money to his 77,000 Richmond Park constituents, asking them if they would vote for Mayor if they agreed to him running. He was supported by a majority who rallied for him. He officially put his name forward on June 23, 2015, alongside his three closest opponents, Andrew Boff, Syed Kamall, and Stephen Greenhalgh. The London Conservatives held an open primary in which 9,227 votes were cast; out of those, 6,514 went to Goldsmith; out of those, 9,227 were cast. In October, Goldsmith's nomination as the Conservative Mayoral nominee was announced in a press release without accompanying a formal event.

Goldsmith has consistently spoken out against Heathrow Airport's expansion. He was positive that the Cameron government would reject Heathrow expansion, but that if they did not, he would resign as an MP and cause a by-election. He also condemned the Airport Commission study, written by economist Howard Davies, which advocated Heathrow expansion; Goldsmith said that Davies had already decided on his resignation before completing the three-year study. Davies defended his assertion that Goldsmith was lying, but the latter denied it, citing the fact that he gave Davies' commission was not taken seriously.

The housing shortage in London was a defining issue in the campaign. Goldsmith suggested that we construct "high-density, low-rise buildings that are in keeping with communities" on privately owned property that is not currently owned by the boroughs or Transport for London to deal with the issue. He defied the common belief in London by encouraging foreign investment into the property market, arguing that this activity could help to finance more house construction. He opposed increasing development on London's Green Belt, but said that if the city's population continues to increase, it will be considered in ten or fifteen years from now. Boris Johnson's proposal to build a Garden Bridge across the River Thames suggested an extension of the London congestion zone, but he also supported Boris Johnson's proposal to build a Garden Bridge across the River Thames.

Goldsmith recruited Lynton Crosby's company to handle his campaign, and Mark Fulbrook was named as his campaign manager. Despite Khan's own attempts to distance himself from Corbyn, Goldsmith's campaign emphasised links between London Labour candidate Sadiq Khan and newly elected socialist Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Both the Conservative campaign and several Conservative-aligned newspapers threatened to smear Khan as an advocate for, or even sympathise with, Islamic fundamentalism. Goldsmith's campaign materials referred to Khan as "modern and divisive," while Conservative Party statements often displayed anti-Muslim sentiment.

Labour has sluggishly accused Goldsmith's campaign of using 'dog-whistle politics' and racial or Islamophobic campaigns. "What started off as a subtle dog-whistle is now a full scream," Labour MP Yvette Cooper wrote in April 2016. Baroness Warsi, a conservative politician, also chastised Goldsmith for using a photo of the bus destroyed in the 7/7 terrorist attacks to illustrate an article he wrote. In the London mayoral election, Goldsmith was also accused of 'racial profiling' voters. Goldsmith denied charges that his campaign had been racial and accused his rival Khan of "playing the race card." The Conservatives argued it was "completely predictable" that Labour labels their opponents as racists, citing the fact that the party had also accused Johnson of using racist language during the 2008 mayoral campaign.

Goldsmith's relative lack of political expertise and work history was emphasized by Khan's campaign. Goldsmith was portrayed as a spoilt dilettante, who said he "never finished what he starts" -- "he's someone who before becoming a member of parliament had one proper job that was not offered to him by his uncle."

Goldsmith lost the second round by 315,529 votes to Sadiq Khan. After second round votes were counted, Khan received 57% of the vote to Goldsmith's 43% and polled a record number of votes. Goldsmith's campaign was later chastised by Labour MP David Lammy for being "divisive" by focusing on attempts to connect Khan to Islamist militants.

As early as the BBC's Sunday Politics show, Goldsmith had promised that if the Conservative Party supported the expansion of Heathrow Airport, which he strongly opposed, he would not run as a Conservative candidate in the next election. He lost a by-election in Richmond Park in December 2016, despite the act of resigning his position. He fought as an outsider rather than a Conservative, but UKIP did not endorse him as a candidate. He lost to Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats, who overturned his majority of 23,000.

In April 2017, Goldsmith was re-elected as the Conservative Party nominee for Richmond Park ahead of the upcoming snap general election, which is set to be held on June 8th. He recovered the constituency as a Conservative candidate, but he secured a majority of just 45 votes, the fifth-slimmest in the race. Following Boris Johnson's election as the Conservative Party's leader and Prime Minister in July 2019, Goldsmith was named as Parliamentary Undersecretary of State at both the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Department for International Development. Following Amber Rudd's resignation as Work and Pensions Secretary in September 2019, Johnson reshuffled his frontbench and promoted Goldsmith to Minister of State with the right to vote. On his appointment, he was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council, earning him the honorific name "The Right Honourable" for life. He was ranked 98 by LBC's Iain Dale on the 'Top 100 Most Influential Conservatives of 2019'.

Sarah Olney, a Democrat, defeated Goldsmith by 7,766 votes in the December 2019 snap general election (despite the fact that the Conservative Party gained the most seats since 1979) and took back the Richmond Park seat. Following his electoral loss, it was announced that he would continue to serve as a minister in the government by receiving a life peerage and sitting as a member of the House of Lords.

Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, of Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, was born on January 7, 2020. In reaction to a tweet Goldsmith had posted in 2012 that referred to the House of Lords as "rewarding bigotry" and "insulating" them from "democratic pressure," their ennoblement to the House of Lords was condemned by the Muslim Council of England as "cronyism" and "hypocritical." However, Labour MP and former Shadow Environment Secretary Kerry McCarthy said she supported Goldsmith's pledge to maintain environmental control after Brexit, and that "because of this, I am now around to continue and do the job."

Goldsmith rebutted cronyism charges by saying, "One political rival referred to me as a 'turd that won't flush,' a term my children are unlikely to let me forget." However, many of those brave people who campaigned to protect this unique planet and the animals it holds are celebrating by having a new voice in Parliament, which is a huge honor."

Goldsmith was given the additional role of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Boris Johnson's post-Brexit reshuffle, as well as responsibility for the Pacific. Johnson declared that the Department for International Development would be merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in June 2020 to form the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which was later established in September of that year.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found that Goldsmith had violated the standards commission's code of conduct by using publicly funded stationery and postage for political reasons about 1 November 2019, just before the 2019 general election. A report was published in June in the rebutting of an allegation brought against Goldsmith on 5 November 2019. The authors discovered that they had considered the letter's "timing, tone, and content and decided that it was more of a party-political character rather than a formal one." He accepted the commission's findings and decided to re-pay £8,954.33 to cover the mailing fees.

He was named Minister of State for Asia, Energy, Climate, and Environment in September 2022.

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Awards

• In 2003, Goldsmith was awarded the Beacon Prize as Young Philanthropist of the Year for his contribution to environmental awareness and protection.
• In 2004, he received the Mikhail Gorbachev-founded Green Cross International's Global Green Award for International Environmental Leadership.
• In 2011, he was joint winner of the inaugural BusinessGreen Politician of the Year Award with Tim Yeo MP.
• In 2014, he was also awarded by The Patchwork Foundation for being The Best Conservative Newcomer MP of the Year.