Claire Kober

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 1978) is a former Labour Party politician and ex-council leader of the

London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey ( , same as Harringay) is a London boroughs, London borough in north London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In May 2018 she stepped down as councillor and council leader.

Early life

Kober spent her formative years on

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, where she attended

Cornelius Vermuyden School Cornelius Vermuyden School is a secondary school with academy status for boys and girls ages 11–16. Located on Canvey Island, Essex, the school is named after the Dutch land engineer Sir Cornelius Vermuyden (1595-1683) who reclaimed large are ...

. She initially studied German and History at

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

, but after the first year switched to Modern History at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, where she achieved BA (Hons). After graduating, Kober held positions with a number of charities, including End Child Poverty (2002–04),

Leonard Cheshire Disability Leonard Cheshire is a major health and welfare charity working in the United Kingdom and running development projects around the world. It was founded in 1948 by Royal Air Force officer Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC. Leonard Cheshire's a ...

(2004-06), and

Family Action Family Action (previously Family Welfare Association and the Charity Organisation Society) is a charity in England founded in 1869. It provides support for families, including financial and mental health issues relating to them. The stated aim ...

(2006–08). In May 2006, Kober was elected as a councillor for the London Borough of Haringey.

Political career

Kober was selected as Labour's Council candidate for

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and after two defeats she was elected to represent the Seven Sisters ward in south

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

on 4 May 2006. In November 2008, having served as Labour's Chief Whip, she was elected Leader of the Council in succession to Cllr George Meehan, who resigned following the

death of Baby P Peter Connelly (also known as "Baby P", "Child A", and "Baby Peter", 1 March 2006 – 3 August 2007) was a 17-month-old British boy who was killed in London in 2007 after suffering more than fifty injuries over an eight-month period, during w ...

. On 8 June 2010, Kober was appointed by Hackney Mayor

Jules Pipe Julian Benjamin Pipe (born May 1965) is a British politician who currently serves as the Deputy Mayor of London for Planning, Regeneration and Skills. Pipe was the first directly elected mayor of the London Borough of Hackney between his ele ...

as Deputy Chair of London Councils, the body which represents the interests of the 32 London Borough Councils. She was the lead spokesperson on regeneration and infrastructure. In February 2018, ahead of the May 2018 council elections, she announced she would be stepping down as councillor and council leader, blaming "bullying" and "sexism" by supporters of

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

. She had been pursuing a policy of attempting to transfer a large area of the Borough's public housing to the "HDV" (Haringey Development Vehicle), a partnership with private developers

Lendlease Lendlease is an Australian multinational construction and real estate company, headquartered in Barangaroo, Sydney, New South Wales. History Founding The company was established as Lendlease by Dick Dusseldorp in 1958 to provide finance fo ...

, the Australian property speculators. However, this development, which was thought to retain insufficient safeguards for decanted tenants, had faced fierce resistance from both Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors and from local campaigners. After stepping down as leader and councillor, she quickly obtained the role of Director of Housing at the Pinnacle Group, a private finance group. Pinnacle, which is owned by private equity group, Starwood Capital, was one of the three shortlisted bidders for the Haringey Development Vehicle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kober, Claire 1978 births Living people Alumni of the University of East Anglia Labour Party (UK) councillors Councillors in the London Borough of Haringey Officers of the Order of the British Empire Leaders of local authorities of England Women councillors in England