Scant support for Goldsmith |

Monday 30th November 2009 | 14:00

Scant support for Goldsmith

Most non-aligned political observers say the Tories would be better off without Zac Goldsmith as a candidate; even Tories are not convinced

The majority of political insiders believe the Conservative Party would be better off without Zac Goldsmith as a parliamentary candidate, after the revelation he has claimed non-domicile tax status.

That's the latest result from the PoliticsHome Phi100 survey, which polls a panel of MPs and other insiders to assess the state of opinion within Westminster on a daily basis.

A narrow majority of Conservative-aligned insiders support Goldsmith, but a substantial minority (38%) believe the best course of action for the party would be to remove him.

Predictably, left-leaning and Liberal Democrat insiders believe that Goldsmith should stand down, but less predictably an overwhelming 70% of non-affiliated observers agree.

Overall, 58% believe it would be more damaging for the Conservative Party to keep him in place. One-third believe it would be worse for the party if he is removed.

Goldsmith is due to stand for the Tories in the Richmond Park and North Kingston seat, currently held by Liberal Democrat Susan Kramer, whose party today called for Mr Goldsmith to stand down.

Goldsmith has denied avoiding any tax, and has claimed he has already decided to relinquish his non-domiciled status.

The Phi100 panel includes MPs and peers from across the political spectrum, as well as media commentators and executives, party strategists, and thought leaders from think tanks and universities.

'Hard to remove'

A Liberal Democrat MP said, “They're starting to really stack up non-doms, and if they don't do anything it looks like there's one rule for the rich and another for everyone else.”

A left-aligned think tank leader said, "The question is what they ought to do. And they should certainly get rid of him."

A journalist said, “It would be more damaging to remove him, but this damages his chance of defeating Susan Kramer.”

A Conservative MP commented, "He is very hard to remove - he has broken no laws or Party rules".

A non-aligned panellist said 'It looks dreadful especially given the continued refusal of Ashcroft to clarify his tax status.'

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