Zac Goldsmith's LBC gaffe: 'I'm hoping to do a Leicester City and zoom in from behind to win'

Tom Marshall3 May 2016
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Zac Goldsmith was left red-faced again today after saying he was hoping to “do a Leicester City” by coming from behind to win the mayoral election.

The Conservative candidate trails his Labour rival Sadiq Khan in the race to succeed Boris Johnson at City Hall, with bookies heavily favouring Mr Khan and recent polls giving him a 20-point lead.

But Mr Goldsmith told LBC’s Nick Ferrari show that he is hoping to emulate Leicester’s unlikely Premier League triumph, saying: "I'm feeling very good [about the election]. I'm hoping to do a Leicester city here, I'm gonna zoom in from behind and win on May the 5th”.

His remark prompted some listeners to point out on Twitter that Leicester led the league for much of the season. The side had been top of the league since January 23.

Mr Goldsmith, MP for Richmond Park, went on to answer questions from the public on a wide range of issues, including the Labour anti-Semitism row, the terror threat facing the capital and cycle superhighways.

On anti-Semitism, he said the problem was an “open wound in the Labour party”, adding: “It’s a problem among councillors and a problem right at the top of the Labour party.”

Asked about the threat of terrorism, he said seven attacks have been foiled in the past year but that “we can’t pretend no-one is ever going to slip through the net, so we need to be prepared.”

He said he would look closely at the controversial cycle superhighways and reverse the policy if it becomes clear they have failed, but added: “I believed they will work.”

The MP later attacked his main rival when he repeated his accusation that Mr Khan has shown "appalling judgment" by speaking at events with extremists and therefore “giving these people legitimacy”.

He faced some criticism for aspects of his campaign which have been branded divisive by commentators, including an article in the Mail on Sunday which used an image of a bus bombed during 7/7 alongside criticism of Mr Khan.

Mr Goldsmith insisted he had nothing to do with choosing the photo and said: “I think it was a mistake and it’s not something I would have done.”

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