Oh dear. With Sadiq Khan leading the polls ahead of the upcoming London mayoral election, Zac Goldsmith has his work cut out when it comes to convincing swing voters to vote blue. As part of this, the Old Etonian needs to show that he has a firm understanding of Londoners’ needs.
Alas, his efforts hit a bump in the road today thanks to an awkward BBC interview. The Conservative mayoral candidate was quizzed by Norman Smith in the back of a cab for the Victoria Derbyshire show. Goldsmith was quick to make the point that he — like the majority of Londoners — regularly uses the tube. However, when Smith proceeded to quiz him on London tube stops, Goldsmith began to sound a lot less convincing:
NS: Do you use the tube?
ZG: Yeah… often
NS: Let’s take the central line — what’s next in this sequence: Bond Street, Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road,
ZG: I’m going to stop you there because I don’t … most people have a route. I have two routes. Most people have a route or two routes, and they become like an extension of the body.
You use those routes not for ethical reasons, but because it is the only way to get around London without being late for meetings. For routes outside of the norm you have apps like City Mapper which I rely pretty heavily on pretty much every day. They ensure that you get where you need to get to on time.
Things didn’t improve much as the interview went on. While Goldsmith did manage to name the first Queen Vic landlord in EastEnders, he didn’t know where the Museum of London is. Mr S suggests Goldsmith spends a day sightseeing — via public transport — ahead of his next interview.
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