The council chief who’s a Red Princess
Labour council leader Georgia Gould has been plunged into the limelight after ordering the evacuation of hundreds of residents from tower blocks.
She is one of the most prominent of the so- called red Princes and Princesses – aspiring young politicians whose careers have been boosted because they are the offspring of senior party figures.
Miss Gould’s father, the late Philip Gould, was an adviser to Neil Kinnock and was later Tony blair’s chief pollster. Her mother, Gail rebuck, is chairman of the publisher Penguin random House and sits on Labour benches in the Lords. Miss Gould became leader of Camden Council in north London only weeks ago at the age of 31.
Her connection with politics started early; as a baby she was held aloft by Mr Kinnock at a party rally in 1986.
With such an auspicious start, her path to power seemed assured.
but it stuttered after attempts were made to parachute her into the safe Labour seat of Erith and Thamesmead in south- east London in 2009, when she was 23. a local backlash led by the unions meant her candidacy did not succeed.
Instead she concentrated on local government, rising to become leader of Camden Council last month. She is understood to still harbour ambitions of becoming an MP. Her pedigree led to her being linked to other red Princes and Princesses such as Will Straw, Stephen Kinnock and Emily benn.
In april she said: ‘My dad was very involved in the Labour Party and I was brought up with very strong Labour values, leafleting as a kid.
‘I was taught to try and make a difference in the world – those are the values that my dad gave me and that absolutely influenced me, but that doesn’t mean I agree with absolutely everything he stood for.’
Miss Gould was confronted at the weekend by a 72-year-old resident who was evacuated from her home but told accommodation could not be found for her because she had a dog. The Labour politician’s hopes of one day becoming an MP may depend on how well she responds to the tower block disaster.
She was educated locally, studying at the comprehensive Camden School for Girls, before going on to study history and politics at St Catherine’s College, oxford. She also holds a master’s degree in global politics from the London School of Economics.
Her fellow red Princes and Princesses have had mixed success. Will Straw, son of the former foreign secretary Jack, went on to head up the remain campaign. Stephen Kinnock, the son Lord Kinnock, is now an MP in Wales. and Emily benn, the 27-year-old granddaughter of Tony, has tried and failed twice to be elected as an MP.