Claire Kober

Claire Kober OBE (born 1978) is a former Labour Party politician and ex-council leader of the London Borough of Haringey, North London, England. In May 2018 she stepped down as councillor and council leader.

Early life Kober spent her formative years on Canvey Island, Essex, where she attended Cornelius Vermuyden School.

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. 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 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. 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, 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.