Zac Goldsmith (40) has won the Conservative Party nomination and is all set to run the race to become the Mayor of London 2016 against Labour MP, Sadiq Khan.
Goldsmith was touted as one of the Conservative's favourites since the moment he announced that he would be contesting. He warded off competition from MEP Syed Kamall, Andrew Boff and Stephen Greenhalgh and won 70% of the 9,227 votes casted.
The race for the Mayoral position is not only the battle of two political parties, but also comes across as the contest of two socio-economical backgrounds. In one corner, we have the true and blue Conservative, Zac Goldsmith, MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston, who was born to a billionaire father and has seen the glitz and glamour, been with the elites and knows the crème de la crème.
On the other hand, we have the son of a bus driver, Labour's Sadiq Khan, who became the second Muslim to serve in the UK government, when the former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown had appointed him as minister of state for communities.
Both are diverse individual who pledge that they will make London a better place if elected. Zac Goldsmith stated, “Our living environment is facing increasing pressure, and we will need to protect, enhance and improve access to our green spaces, as well as radically improving the quality of the air that we breathe.”
He continued, “Londoners are being priced out of their city and we will need a step change in the number of homes built, and the manner in which they are built.”
Sadiq Khan's key priorities consist of freezing transport fares, creating opportunities for Londoners, as well as solving the housing crisis. He mentioned, “Looking to the future, our burning ambition must be that all Londoners have the same opportunity.”
While congratulating him for in a statement, Khan also issued an immediate challenge regarding the housing crisis. He said, “I welcome Zac Goldsmith to the mayoral contest and look forward to a positive and friendly debate about the big issues facing Londoners. This election is a referendum on London's housing crisis, and I challenge Zac Goldsmith to join me in opposing the Tories' Housing Bill, which will make our city's housing crisis many times worse.”
The current mayor of London, Boris Johnson is happy for Goldsmith and has ample of good things to say about him. He said, “I'm delighted for Zac- he's principled, hardworking and dedicated. He's fizzing with ideas and he's passionate about London and its people.”
The competition between the two might seem neck-to-neck, however, a survey by YouGov shows how Goldsmith is coming up as a more likely choice. However, ones decision to vote for a particular candidate changes from time to time. And for those who are still indecisive about who to cast there votes for, the London mayoral election will be held on 5th May 2016, so there is still plenty of time for you to familiarise yourself with the candidates, their pledges and their ethos.
