Oh dear. This week the Bow Group sent out invitations to members and supporters announcing that Zac Goldsmith would give the speech at the Conservative think tank’s summer party.
‘Our keynote speech will be from Zac Goldsmith, the Member of Parliament for Richmond Park who is currently seeking the Conservative Party nomination to succeed Boris Johnson MP as Mayor of London. After Zac’s keynote speech, he will hold an extended Q&A to answer any questions from the audience.’
However, some naysayers began to query why the Tory MP was speaking at the event, after the Tory think tank made the news during the election campaign for backing a number of Ukip MPs including Mark Reckless, who ended up losing his seat to the Conservatives. At the time, a number of Bow Group patrons including Michael Heseltine, Michael Howard, Norman Lamont and Nirj Deva MEP, released a strongly-worded statement distancing themselves from the Ukip endorsement.
Now the London mayoral hopeful has cancelled his speech at the do.

Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in