EXCLUSIVE: Mayoral Candidate Zac Goldsmith Backs Out of Tory Speech After Poor Debate Performance

London Mayoral Candidate Zac Goldsmith has pulled out of a speech due to be hosted by the oldest conservative think tank in the country, citing concerns that he was billed as giving a “keynote speech” when in fact he believed he was giving a non keynote speech.

The excuse comes just hours after Goldsmith failed to woo conservative audiences in a head to head debate hosted by BBC London Radio this morning.

Goldsmith, who was tipped as the favourite going into the live discussion, failed to prove his right wing credentials as he discussed making regulatory conditions in London difficult for companies like Uber to operate in. Meanwhile, second stringer Syed Kamall came out swinging on the Kids’ Company charity debacle, and noted that he was able to “reach out way beyond traditional Conservative voters.”

But Goldsmith’s campaign denies the poor performance was behind his motivations to withdraw from a public speaking engagement in less than a weeks’ time. Former MP Nick de Bois told Breitbart London:

“Zac is speaking to groups across the political spectrum and will continue to do so.  As part of his campaign it is important that members across London get to express their views and quiz Zac as part of this process.

“As I set out to the Bow Group this event was intended to be one of many others where Zac could informally speak to Conservative Members about their and his priorities for London.

“Without agreement the Bow group has been misleading attendees and the public, selling the event as a keynote speech – something very different.  He will therefore not be taking part.”

But the Bow Group event did not in fact bill Zac’s speech as a keynote of his campaign, but rather of the Bow Group’s event. In fact, e-mails between the two camps, seen by Breitbart London, included the word “keynote” in this context, to which Goldsmith’s campaign replied, “looks fine”.

Source have told Breitbart London that Tory activist organisations like Conservative Way Forward and Conservative Future have already thrown support behind Kamall’s campaign – something they deny – raising the question, by ostracising the right of the Conservative Party, how Goldsmith intends to win the nomination.

When asked about this, his campaign spokesman and former MP Nick de Bois said, “Zac will be fighting for every vote to secure the nomination.”