to believe Zac Goldsmith would be a bad Mayor of London

[longfingernails]

I understand only a Tory from the left of the party could ever hope to win in London, but:

• he is obsessed with Lib Dem/Green type idiocy on the environment
• his anti-Heathrow expansion is populist but foolish (same as Boris)
• he is completely wet

Obviously almost anyone would be better than a Labour mayor, and a big name would be needed to overcome Labour's surplus in London. But surely the Tories can do better?

Lord Coe would be a far superior candidate in my opinion.

Wasn't he a non-dom?

Coe would be far better.

Was going to say I like his green creds but obviously not singing from the same hymn sheet there!

Yes his non-dommery would be a negative in the election, though probably not much.

My objections to him are not based on his electability, but because I disagree with his political views. I think he would probably enter the contest as favourite versus a 'generic' Labour non-entity machine politician like Tessa Jowell or Sadiq Khan, as he would get most LD and a lot of Green second preferences. Though he won't get many UKIP second preferences I think.

His anti Heathrow expansion stance is essential for his constituency though.

Why not a Labour mayor?

I'm a lib dem and would certainly prefer goldsmith over the possible labour candidates - miles better than the likes of Sadiq Khan. I think you're right that goldsmith may do well as he has some real cross party appeal.

Labour are clearly dominant over the Tories in London on a partisan basis, but a mayoral contest is about personality, being independent from your party leadership, and being a natural communicator. The main Labour candidates so far (Khan and Jowell) don't exactly shine in that department. Maybe Diane Abbott has the personality and name recognition, though it's extremely unlikely she'll win her party nomination.

I think we should expand both Heathrow and Gatwick. It would be good for the economy and we can't afford to be do-gooders when the pollution we generate is completely irrelevant next to China, the US and others.

Zac Goldsmith and Boris Johnson are hurting the London economy with their opposition to new runways.

Do you live in the flight path of either airport op?

No, but I believe big infrastructure projects are one of the main responsibilities of government, and Zac Goldsmith's views stand in the way of progress.

I like Tessa Jowell actually. Zac is my constituency mp. I voted for him in the election before last but not this time. I actually like his environmental ideas but it appears to me that he talks a lot but doesn't do much. I would also put Boris Johnson in the category. Zac seems to me to represent unearned inherited privilege. I would rather vote for someone else.

Just what we need. Another wealthy, entitled member of the elite in a position of political power.
When will voters stop behaving like a mass of teenage girls hankering after the prom prince?

longfingernails
You won't be suffer any direct negative impact from the expansion of Heathrow or Gatwick, so you happily tell those who will suffer to suck it up.

I think a lot of West London will vote for him.

A mayoral candidate of whatever party who actively espouses expansion for Heathrow will very quickly lose support across many many voters especially in south west London. That means they would need to gather a hell of a lot of other support mainly from outside west London to make up for it.
I have no particular view one way or the other about Zac Goldsmith per se. I would be open minded about an environmentalist.
I would also be interested in Tessa Jowell, not because she is Labour, but because she fought for the Olympics for London from the beginning and can rise above party politics.

He's my MP too. I can't stand the Tories but I don't mind him. It was interesting that his election leaflet stressed how independent he was and highlighted all his individual achievements. You'd only know he was a Tory from the very small 'Conservative' logo hidden in small writing at the bottom on the back. When I showed it to DD she thought it was for the Green candidate.

He's very popular locally and increased his majority at the GE - very unusual for a London Tory.

But I don't think success in Richmond Park is a good guide to success across the rest of London. It's definitely one of the wealthiest constituencies, so very untypical on that front. I agree with Toast that the unearned privilege and lack of practical experience doing anything useful - either within or without Parliament - will count against him.

He's probably one of the better choices for the Tory candidate though - which says more about the Tories than it does about him.

I would hate to live under a flight path.
I used to years ago and I never got used to it.
It's very unfair to vote for something that wont directly affect you day to day.
The noise pollution must be hideous at times.

A lot of people are still in thrall to the posh and privileged and won't be able to resist tugging their forelock in the polling booth.

Mitzy - I think less so in London than in other places. The population is very diverse and proportionately fewer people are used to growing up in the class-based society that we have here.

Re: the airport expansion. Somebody needs to make a decision soon about this. It's affecting economic growth, which ultimately affects everyone. If it has to be Heathrow or Gatwick, so be it. I want to hear from all the mayoral candidates what their solutions are for this, not just a stubborn "don't expand Heathrow".