Claire-Louise Vaculik (née Leyland) is an English

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician. She was the leader of the Conservatives on

Camden London Borough Council Camden London Borough Council, also known as Camden Council, legally The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Camden, is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one o ...

from 2014 to 2018, and represented Belsize on the council from

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. She has stood unsuccessfully for Parliament twice: in West Tyrone in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and her home seat of Hampstead and Kilburn in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Early life and education

Leyland was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and attended Wynberg Girls' High School in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, followed by

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

and

Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...

. She moved to London in 1998 to study further at

Goldsmiths A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and serviceable ...

and

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

Career

Leyland is an art therapist by profession, and is the chair of the British Association of Art Therapists, the British professional body for art therapists. She edited the book ''Integrative Arts Psychotherapy''. Leyland was elected to

to represent Belsize, and won the seat back from the Liberal Democrats. She became the leader of the Conservatives in 2013 (when they were the third largest party) and became the leader of the opposition in 2014, when the Liberal Democrats lost all but one seat. As leader of the opposition, she made national news by advocating more CCTV in Belsize Park, and criticising Camden Council for spending money on publicising the fact it had no money. At the 2015 general election, Leyland stood as the Conservative candidate for West Tyrone in Northern Ireland. She came eighth and lost her deposit, being just three votes ahead of the last-placed candidate. It was the party's sixth-lowest vote share at that election. Leyland voted to remain in the 2016 EU referendum. She was selected for Hampstead and Kilburn at the 2017 general election, beating Henry Newman and

Kemi Badenoch Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke Badenoch (' Adegoke; born 2 January 1980) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservati ...

, and her candidacy in the strongly anti-

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

constituency was dubbed 'Clash of the Remainers'. She was criticised for downplaying being a Conservative and instead being promoted as "

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

's candidate". Leyland finished as a distant second, with a large swing towards the Labour incumbent,

Tulip Siddiq Tulip Rizwana Siddiq (born 16 September 1982) is a British Bangladeshi politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Highgate, previously Hampstead and Kilburn, since 2015. She served as Economic Secretary to the T ...

. Leyland stood down from Camden Council in

Electoral results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leyland, Claire-Louise Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Alumni of Middlesex University Art therapists Councillors in the London Borough of Camden Conservative Party (UK) councillors Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Living people Rhodes University alumni South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African women in politics Stellenbosch University alumni White South African people Women councillors in England Year of birth missing (living people)