Goldsmith's declaration of independence

Sally Chatterjee

This smacks of desperation. He's fighting the incumbent Lib Dems and if a) he wins and b) the Tories have a slim majority, the prospect of whether Richmond Park introduces Pay N'Display or not shouldn't be allowed to influence government policy.

Fair play for representing your constituents but this needs to be done within reason, a MP has to listen to their peers. A representative, not a roadblock.

Rainer Unsinn

Did Cameron not say that he would allow voters to "fire" their MP if he wasn't up to snuff?

Is this not merely a candidate saying the same thing, but actually offering his head onto the block?

Vulture

Two ways you can look at this:

Either heroic independence from a gutsy would-be MP.

Or arrogance from a spoil little rich kid whom no-one has ever said 'No' to.

Naomi Muse

What a refreshing statement! A chip off the old block, if I remember James Goldsmith's book the 'Trap' and the 'Response'.

Alexander Pelling

There's no doubt about it: having principles costs money. And yes,this does sometimes mean that independently wealthy peole are more principled than the congenitally indigent.

Tony Bristow

Any breaking of manifesto promises, especially the weasel worded evasions Brown et al have been so found of should trigger another election.

A good move

Streeter

Ahh, the optimism of youth!
It's fine in theory, but what would happen if all MPs made a similar pledge for campaign promises that were not compatible? There may be a candidate, say with a pro-business constituency, who has promised to expand Heathrow. Mr Goldsmith may soon realise that, as governments are themselves coalitions of people with different views and aims, compromise is necessary. Even without a hung parlaiment!

Greenslime

So what's your point, Vulture? Is he one or the other or are you just bored and bumping your gums?

AndyinBrum

It's the same as D Davies. He could be seen as a brave man of principle, or a hysterical over reacting Drama queen.

I'd go for the former on both.

Tom Pride

An ominous silence from ROY. What’s up at Labour HQ?

Think This

Good for him. I may not think much of 'greeness' but its about damn time someone made promises which they took seriously.

People are cynical about politics and Mr Goldsmith has just taken a small step to reducing that.

Andy Carpark

I have just thrust my rotting derriere against the monitor and committed an atrocity. Just when you thought this campaign had hit the bedrock of inanity, yet another snivelling nonentity starts drilling down with his witless squawk for attention.

Hat tip to Paul Waugh, indeed. Go out and paint white lines on the roads, Paul, you monkey. Do a proper job for once in your vacuous, risible, parasitic life. Nom de Jesus Christe.

Senor Frizby

Good for him. Can't really say fairer than that. Here on the Hounslow / Hammersmith borderlands we only hear a squeak out of the MP's when they're seeking another license to trough.

Jim Coots

Old trick. He wants to appear to pick a fight with the party to show prospective voters he is "boss". Meant to impress independents and undecideds.

David Lindsay

You call this a party?

Five UKIP members publicly acknowledged as such, despite UKIP's disagreement with Cameron on everything that there is, and its undisguised contempt for the man himself. Several card-carrying members of the Labour Party, to my certain knowledge. At least one anti-marriage, anti-monarchist Lib Dem. Several old SDP hands, one of them a current Cabinet Minister. Peter Mandelson.

The SWP faction within the Respect Group on Tower Hamlets Council. The Trotskyist who ran Tony Blair's favourite think tank, itself a Communist Party continuity organisation. The founder and only ever Leader of a very recently dissolved party dedicated to Welsh separatism Welsh-speaking supremacism, Hard Left economic policy, and hardline Political Correctness, and who as an MP tried to replace the Oath of Allegiance to the Queen with an Oath of Allegiance to the Human Rights Act.

And now this.

Zac Goldsmith is not a patch on his father. This same Goldsmith The Younger is also on record that the vandalism of a power station is acceptable in the service of opposition to high-skilled, high-wage, high-status jobs, and to independence from Arab or Venezuelan oil and from Russian or Bolivian gas. Cameron's Environment Secretary in waiting.

Snowman

Why is this man standing for the Tories, his stance on the climate issue should disqualify him outright.

David Lindsay

Snowman, his position is exactly that of his party. What made you think otherwise? Next you'll be telling us that the Tories are Eurosceptics. Whatever gave anyone that idea? Even UKIP, desperate to save money by not contesting certain seats, can only find five Tory Eurosceptics, all of them sitting MPs rather than new candidates, and for some reason three of them in West Yorkshire.

Snowman

David Lindsay: you right, of course, I did forget, but isn’t it THE reason for the majority of the electorate, utterly fed up with the current lot, unable to warm up to the Zaccy Daves?