Lord Zac Goldsmith has handed in his resignation following the recent Partygate probe.
The minister was among 10 Conservative MPs that the Privileges Committee said was trying to interfere with their inquiry into Partygate, which investigates the parties and gatherings that took place in 10 Downing Street during strict Covid-19 lockdowns despite national regulations.
Both Liberal Democrats and Labour members had been calling for his resignation in relation to the Partygate scandal, but Rishi Sunak’s spokesman had said the prime minister had full confidence in Lord Goldsmith.
However, to the surprise of many, the reason he shared for his resignation was completely irrelevant to the probe and being accused of undermining the investigation.
He said he was resigning in reaction to the Government’s “apathy” towards climate change, and that as the Minister for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment, he could no longer work under this circumstance.
He claimed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was “uninterested” in the environment and he was “horrified” by the Government abandoning its environmental commitments.
However, the Prime Minister said that Lord Goldsmith had been asked to apologise over his comments about the Privileges Committee report that found Mr Johnson lied to MPs with his partygate denials because they were “incompatible” with his position as a minister.
Here is everything we know about Zac Goldsmith.
It has been a privilege to have been able to make a difference to a cause I have been committed to for as long as I remember. But this govt’s apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we face makes continuing in my role untenable. Reluctantly I am therefore stepping down pic.twitter.com/KDJKN3i6ER
— Zac Goldsmith (@ZacGoldsmith) June 30, 2023
Who is Zac Goldsmith?
Lord Zac Goldsmith, who is the Baron of Richmond Park, is a British politician, life peer, and journalist.
The 48-year-old Chelsea native was born as the middle child of Sir James Goldsmith, the French-British financier, tycoon, and politician, and Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Steward, the daughter of the 8th Marquess of Londonderry.
He grew up in awe of David Attenborough and nature.
He studied at King’s House School in Richmond, The Mall School in Twickenham, Hawtreys School in Wilshire, and Eton College in Berkshire, before completing his A-Levels at the Cambridge Centre for Sixth-Form Studies.
He then travelled the world with the International Honours programme, stopping by Thailand, New Zealand, Mexico, and more.
Lord Goldsmith’s career started in California, where he worked for the think tank Redefining Progress. He then joined the International Society for Ecology and Culture as a researcher for a couple of years.
In 1997, Lord Goldsmith was appointed as The Ecologist’s reviews editor by his uncle Edward Goldsmith, who founded and published the magazine. He worked at the magazine for many years, relaunching it in 2000 to be less academic, before stepping down in 2006.
Life and political career
Lord Goldsmith’s political career began in 2005 when he first joined the Conservative Party. That year, David Cameron approved him becoming the deputy chairman of the Quality of Life Policy Group, under the former environment secretary John Gummer. The group studied climate change, carbon emissions, clean air, and more.
His work led him to be placed on the Conservative A-List of those whom Cameron wanted to be involved in the 2010 general election.
This election saw him beat the LibDem MP Susan Kramer and become the representative of Richmond Park.
After resigning from his seat in December 2016, in reaction to the Tories backing the expansion of Heathrow Airport, he was reelected in 2017.
Under Boris Johnson, 2019 saw him get appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at both the Department for International Development, and the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.
After Amber Rudd’s resignation, he became the Minister of State and gained a seat in the Cabinet. His promotion also saw him join the Privy Council, giving him the title “The Right Honourable” for the rest of his life.
In 2019, the snap general election saw him lose the Richmond Park seat, after which the politician announced that he would continue to serve as a minister in the Government by being awarded a life peerage and sitting in the House of Lords.
In September 2022, Liz Truss appointed him as the Minister of State for Asia, Energy, Climate, and Environment. Then, Sunak added Overseas Territories and the Commonwealth to his list of responsibilities.
Goldsmith was married to the British environmentalist and journalist Sheherazade Ventura-Bentley for a decade. Together, they have three children named Uma Romaine, Thyra, and James.
The politician then married banking heiress Alice Rothschild in 2013, at the London Wetland Centre. They welcomed a daughter named Dolly in 2013, a son named Max in 2016, and a daughter named Edie in 2017.
