Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, Zac Goldsmith, visited our offices today to speak to Times and Independent Series and East London Guardian Series chief reporter Anna Slater ahead of the election in May. Here's what he had to say...

Zac on… housing

The politician wants people on an “average” income to be able to afford to buy their own home, but admits this is a long way off.

“You have to be sufficiently wealthy to be able to afford to buy a home and sufficiently disadvantaged to be able to qualify for social housing. That’s tough.”

He says the solution is to build more houses.

“You need to increase supply – we aren’t building enough and we haven’t for years”.

But where to build the homes is a controversial subject – the Times and Independent Series and the East London Guardian Series have written numerous stories on people complaining of overdevelopment.

Most campaigners are not against the building of new homes, and are instead fearful of the traffic congestion and parking chaos they will bring with them.

“A big chunk of the answer is to build on brownfield land. There is an opportunity to rebuild dilapidated estates which have come to the end of their lives.

“That’s been done badly in the past and has undermined existing communities – it must be done with the communities' consent."

He also hopes transport schemes such as Crossrail 1 will encourage developers to build on land previously seen as undesirable due to poor links into central London.

“This is a relatively small extension which will open up land for new homes which would otherwise not be developed.”

Zac on…infrastructure

Some GP surgeries are struggling to cope as the population grows and many say they have to wait months to get a doctor’s appointment.

But he hopes creating GP Hubs which would be open seven days a week could help solve this crisis.

“We need to build communities – otherwise we are just building problems for the future.

“London is growing very fast at 100,000 people a year so all of these problems will increase. It’s not the future, but it’s a future and a model which has proven to work.

“It’s about making sure that as the population grows, the services people need grow aside that.”

Zac on… libraries

Barnet and Harrow councils have chosen to cut library services to save money. In Redbridge, two libraries are closing and will be replaced but campaigners have raised concern that users with limited mobility will be unable to access the new sites.

“These are decisions made by local authorities and it’s about the importance they place on them. A lot of is down to the management.

“I can’t comment on whether local authorities which have chosen to close their libraries manage their finances well.

“But boroughs that decide to invest in libraries, such as Hillingdon, Richmond and Kingston, have been able to do this without the pressures.”

In Barnet, councillors are hoping to create unstaffed libraries to save money.

“I am sure there is a value in creating unstaffed libraries but it depends on what they are for. The future of libraries is not just providing books, but services too.”

Zac on… parking and transport

Redbridge, Harrow and Waltham Forest currently offer a limited amount of free parking to help boost trade.

But speaking about Waltham Forest’s ‘15 minute grace period’, he said: “It’s meaningless. Nobody trusts it and they’ll assume they’ll get a ticket anyway.

“I think that’s wrong.”

Meanwhile in Barnet, councillors say there is “no link” between parking and poor trade and rejected the Times Series’ campaign for 30 minutes free last year.

But Zac disagrees with his Conservatives colleagues on this matter and pledged to take the matter up if he is elected.

“I believe awkward parking arrangements are bad for local businesses. Talk to any shop on the high street, all will say parking is an issue.”

Zac on… rising business rates

“Soon business rates will be decentralised to local government and the mayor, then local authorities, will be much more dependent on businesses. They will be more inclined to listen to them.

“It will change the relationship between councillors and businesses immediately.”

Zac on… hospital A&E closures

He pledged to back a campaign to reopen Chase Farm A&E, in Enfield, and to support people fighting the closure of King George Hospital’s A&E, in Goodmayes.

But he admits he has not put it as a central part of his campaign.

“I want all local hospitals to be kept open. Hospitals massively matter to local communities.

“Politicians can yell and scream about this, but it’s a government issue. I can promise to save every hospital in London, but it would be an empty promise.”

Zac on…cuts to social care

Chancellor George Osborne suggested councils raise tax by two per cent to help pay for adult care services.

Labour controlled Haringey and Harrow took his advice – but failed to protect these services. In Harrow, the popular Bridge is to be cut while autism services in Haringey are also under threat.

“I can’t say I’ve been through their books to see how efficient they are with their spending. Authorities have to decide what the priorities are and it strikes me as odd that services are in line for cuts.”