Claire Kober OBE (born 1978) was a Labour Party politician and ex-council leader of the

London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a 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 of t ...

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

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. 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 parishes in England, 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 ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, 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, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

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

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

, 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 aims ...

(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, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchl ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

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 6 ...

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

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

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 elect ...

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 served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

. 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 a globally integrated real estate company that creates and invests in communities, workplaces, retail, and infrastructure projects, headquartered in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. History Founding The company was establ ...

, 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 pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

, 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