Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative candidate for Richmond Park, hopes that green issues will inspire Kingston students to vote for him at next year’s general election.

Mr Goldsmith told RiverOnline that the Conservatives are now the strongest party on environmental issues.

Mr Goldsmith said: “Our manifesto will be the greenest manifesto of any serious political party in the developed world, ever.”

The Conservatives have not traditionally been considered an environmentally friendly party but Mr Goldsmith believes that Tory leader David Cameron has changed the direction of the party, with his help. He said: “The environmental manifesto will be a reflection of a lot of work that I’ve done.”

However, Mr Goldsmith's role as the Conservative environmental guru has recently been questioned after his "non-domicle" tax status was revealed. "Non-dom" status means a person does not have to pay tax on foreign earnings, because they don't live here permanently. Non-doms can only be in the UK for seven out of every 10 years. 

Mr Goldsmith, who has now promised to change his tax status, said: “I want to weave a green thread through the workings of Parliament.”

Comparing his book, The Constant Economy, with a Conservative paper called 'The Low Carbon Economy' Mr Goldsmith said: "A lot of the meaty stuff from this book is in there and the stuff that isn't I'm going to push."

Mr Goldsmith, who has been described as a maverick, said: “I can keep the Conservative Party’s collective feet to the fire on the issues that really matter.”

The other issue that Mr Goldsmith feels very strongly about is electoral reform.

He claimed that: “Technically, Britain is only just a democracy, it should be a proper democracy.”

To encourage people to participate in politics Mr Goldsmith wishes to introduce what he calls 'direct democracy.'

This would involve referendums on issues that collect enough signatures. Mr Goldsmith believes this will encourage national debate on important issues.

When asked how he felt about the recent referendum in Switzerland which banned the building of the Muslim symbols, minarets, he said: "There is no system that guarantees every decision will be the right one so, on balance, I still very much favour direct democracy."