Zac Goldsmith is seeking a rematch against Sarah Olney six months after she ousted him in the Richmond Park by-election, the Evening Standard can reveal.
The former MP is aiming to stand again in his Richmond Park constituency, where his 23,000 majority at the 2015 election was wiped out in one of the most dramatic by-election upsets of recent years.
If he is selected, the West London constituency would become a key battleground - and a big test of whether Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron’s anti-Brexit campaign strategy can work as successfully in a general election as it did in a by-election.
Local Conservatives think Mr Goldsmith’s chances will be much higher as the official Tory candidate, backed by the full party machine and activist base. For the by-election he was an independent, with the effect that many volunteers stayed away and he had no contact database.
However, the Green Party, which stood aside in the by-election, may given Ms Olney a clear run as part of an emerging tactic helping rival Opposition parties.
It has emerged that the Greens will not stand in Ealing Central & Acton, another key marginal, where Labour’s Rupa Huq is defending against Conservatives.
Ex-minister Sir Vince Cable, who is standing again in Twickenham, is urging fellow Lib Dems in Brighton to support the Greens’ Caroline Lucas, which implies there could be a non-aggression deal emerging in several London seats.
If the Richmond Park contest looks close, Lib Dems may have to redeploy troops from other seats, which could ease the pressure on Tory MPs Tania Matthias, who won Twickenham in 2015, and James Berry, who took Kingston & Surbiton from Sir Edward Davey.
Mr Goldsmith did not return calls from the Evening Standard. An official Conservative spokesman confirmed that a shortlist was being drawn up by party headquarters but would not say whether Mr Goldsmith would be on it.
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However, local Tories say they think he will be on the shortlist, along with a Richmond councillor and a ward chairman. The three will go to a vote of constituency members at a hustings in a Richmond church on Wednesday, where they will make speeches and answer questions.
A local source said there was a feeling that Mr Goldsmith stood the best chance of winning if his name was allowed to go forward by HQ.
“He was an extremely popular and hard working local MP and he has remained a party member,” said the source. “Not everyone was happy with the by-election but at least he kept his promise to resign his seat over Heathrow expansion.
“His chances of winning would be good.”
Another Tory attempting a comeback is former Ilford North MP Lee Scott, who will seek to oust Labour’s Wes Streeting, who achieved a majority of 589 in 2015.
