Zac Goldsmith has fired the first salvo in what is set to be a fiercely fought election campaign for the Richmond Park constituency.

With sitting Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer’s majority in his sights, he said: “My campaign has been positive and honest. I stand for a different type of politics.”

Richmond Park is number 61 on the Conservatives’ target list of seats on May 6, according to ukpollingreport.co.uk.

Mr Goldsmith said: “Richmond Park and North Kingston is a key constituency. It is one of 117 seats that David Cameron must win if we’re to have a change of government.”

The Conservative Party requires a swing of 6.9 per cent nationally to have an overall majority of one seat, but a swing of 3.6 per cent in Richmond Park and north Kingston would overturn Mrs Kramer’s 2005 majority of 3,649.

Clearly drawing the battlelines between the two candidates, Mr Goldsmith said: “We are facing an economic, environmental, social and political crisis. We urgently need a change of direction. A vote for the Lib Dems here is a vote for the status quo.”

The Tories are set to launch their Vote for Change manifesto soon, but Mr Goldsmith has already hit the campaign trail.

He said: “We will tackle the deficit immediately by eliminating waste at every opportunity.

"Whole sectors, such as the Criminal Justice System, cost twice as much now as they did when Labour took over.

"Most of the increase is for back office bureaucracy, and that’s what we need to cut. We will also make Britain a good place to do business. We will remove tax on new jobs. We will cut business tax for small businesses. We will abolish stamp duty for 9 out of 10 first time buyers.”

Mr Goldsmith won the nomination as parliamentary candidate for the Tories in March 2007.

With the election just four weeks away, he hopes his roots in the constituency will appeal to voters.

He said: “I have always been independent-minded, and as an MP, I will always put constituency before party. I was born here and I grew up here. I would never want to represent anywhere else.”

Susan Kramer will speak about her election campaign this afternoon.

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