Green guru and multi-millionaire Zac Goldsmith is Richmond Park's new Tory candidate.

Almost 350 electors attended the Conservative's open primary at the Queen Charlotte Hall on Friday where candidates were grilled by Michael Portillo.

The editor of The Ecologist magazine beat fellow candidates Sam Mannington-Smith and Kulveer Ranger, by a "comfortable" majority to become the party's next parliamentary prospect. He will now face Lib Dem MP Susan Kramer in the next general election.

Thanking the audience after his win Zac said: "I am overwhelmed with happiness - I want to overwhelm the Liberal Democrats."

Zac, who grew up in Ormeley Lodge on the edge of Richmond Park, cut his campaigning teeth in the consituency knocking on Richmond doors as a child in a bid to free pet budgerigars.

Of his choice to reject a "safe seat" in East Hampshire in favour of the chance to stand for Richmond Park, Zac said: "I did not know Hampshire and the kind of campaigning I'm good at is right for Richmond. You could say that I have burst out of an arranged marriage in favour of a love match."

The 31-year-old father of three who currently lives in Chelsea has pledged to move to the consituency: "It's not a challenge to move to here. I left when I was 19 and one of the nice things is how little it has changed."

Pamela Fleming, chairman of the Richmond Park Conservatives, said: "I am very happy that we have a local candidate and one with such experience of the environment - this will be a key issue in Richmond.

"Zac will be knocking on doors and getting to know people - he wants to talk to schools, the police and people in the constituency."

For more details see this week's Richmond and Twickenham Times.