UPDATED Heathrow expansion to go ahead: Zac Goldsmith resigns
Exclusive: @ZacGoldsmith resigns pic.twitter.com/asanAlwT5b
— Martha Gill (@Martha_Gill) October 25, 2016
In Richmond Park constituency the EURef split was
REMAIN 72%
LEAVE 28%
Zac was a leaver— Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) October 25, 2016
As had been widely predicted Theresa May’s government has decided to go ahead with the expansion of Heathrow. A third runway will be added to the two that have been in place there for 70 years. A short time ago Zac Goldsmith announced that he was quitting his Richmond Park seat.
The immediate political interest is what is the Richmond Park CON MP and 2016 Mayoral candidate, Zac Goldsmith, going to do. He has long threatened to resign thus producing a by-election. He’s made it known that he wants to talk to his constituents first and will be announcing his intentions tonight.
- It was hard to see how in view of his past position he could do other than carry out his threat.
The immediate political interest is the by election in Richmond Park. Until 2010 large parts of his seat were in Lib Dem hands and after Witney the yellows must feel that they have a chance of winning. Zac might stand as an anti-LHR Independent in which case it is not clear what the Tories would do. It is hard to see them giving him a free ride.
The LDs require a swing a fraction more than they achieved in Witney last week to win. They start, though, in a better tactical position having been second at GE2015.
The by election will be about BREXIT as well as LHR3 and the seat recorded one of the biggest REMAIN totals anywhere in the UK on June 23rd.
I’d make the LDs the favourite.