Claire Kober

Claire Kober OBE (born 1978) is a Labour Party politician, currently council leader of the London Borough of Haringey, North London, England.

Early life

Born in Canvey Island, she was educated at the University of Keele and the University of East Anglia. She was involved in youth and student politics, holding various roles before being elected as National Vice President of the National Union of Students in March 2001. She served as a Labour Student on the NUS NEC.

Kober worked in the voluntary sector for End Child Poverty, Leonard Cheshire and the Family Welfare Association (now Family Action)

She has lived in Muswell Hill with her partner for the past 15 years and has two children.

Political career

Kober was selected as Labour's Council candidate for Muswell Hill in 2002 and 2004 and after two defeats she was elected to represent the Seven Sisters ward in south Tottenham on 4 May 2006.^[1]

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.^[2] She led the party to an increased majority at the borough-wide elections on 6 May 2010.

On 8 June 2010, Kober was appointed by Hackney Mayor Jules Pipe as Deputy Chair of London Councils, the body which represents the interests of the 32 London Borough Councils. She is the lead spokesperson on regeneration and infrastructure.^[3]

In September 2013, Kober was appointed as Deputy Chair of the LGA Improvement and Innovation Board and from September 2014 was promoted to Chair of the LGA Resources Board.

She was appointed an OBE in the summer of 2015 for services to local government.

References