Summary
Oliver Cooper (born 1987)[1] is an English Conservative politician and a prominent party activist.[2] He was the leader of the party on Camden London Borough Council representing Hampstead Town and is now a Tory councillor and leader of the Tories in Three Rivers District in Hertfordshire.[3]
Oliver Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Opposition on Three Rivers Council | |
| In office 2022 – Present day | |
| Preceded by | Ciarán Reed |
| Leader of the Opposition on Camden Council | |
| In office 2018–2022 | |
| Preceded by | Gio Spinella |
| Succeeded by | Tom Simon |
| Camden councillor for Hampstead Town | |
| In office 2015–2022 | |
| Preceded by | Simon Marcus |
| Succeeded by | Adrian Cohen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1987 (age 36–37) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | University College London |
Career edit
Cooper attended Dr Challoner's Grammar School and University College London. He is a lawyer and a former journalist.[4]
He was elected to represent Hampstead Town ward on Camden Council in 2015. Despite Hampstead voting 80% for "Remain" in the Brexit referendum in 2016,[5] he voted for "Leave".[6][7][8]
He became the Leader of the Opposition after the 2018 elections. Ahead of the 2022 Camden Borough elections, Cooper chose to move from his 'safe' Conservative ward to the Tory-Liberal Democrat split ward of Belsize to try to increase his party's number of seats.[9] He increased his party's share of the vote and came first among the Conservative candidates, but lost to the Lib Dems, ending his career in local government.[10] Local newspapers said that he "almost certainly" would have held his Hampstead seat if he had not chosen to move to Belsize.[11]
After his defeat, he became the chairman of the Watford Conservatives.[12] He was previously the deputy chairperson of the Hampstead and Kilburn Conservatives.[13] He was elected as a councillor in Hertfordshire in 2023 despite significant Tory losses nationally.[14]
He has appeared in the national news for campaigning to hire more police,[15] highlighting some Labour members disrupting a minute's silence for Tessa Jowell,[16] securing an official rebuke of Sadiq Khan for allegedly misusing crime statistics in 2018,[17] attacking the Revolutionary Communist Group speaking in Camden Council,[18] intervening and stopping Islamophobic violence on the London Underground in September 2019[19] and helping get rid of anti-Semitic graffiti in his area in December 2019.[20][21][22][23][24] In 2022, The Times and The Daily Telegraph reported his criticism of censoring or removing statues in Camden of Mahatma Gandhi, Virginia Woolf, and other figures.[25][26] He wrote in The Telegraph in 2015, unsuccessfully asking Tories not to vote for Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader,[27] which left-wing commentator Owen Jones later called a 'prophetic warning'.[28]
Cooper was the national chairman of the Conservative youth organisation Conservative Future from 2013 to 2014. The Times reported that the organisation was "working really really well"[29] until he was a victim of Mark Clarke in the nationally reported "Tatler Tory" bullying scandal.[30] Cooper stood down after Clarke threatened to spread false rumours about him if he stood for re-election leading to Clarke replacing him with Clarke's lover.[31][32] He had previously relaunched the European Young Conservatives.[33]
Revitalisation of Belsize Village edit
As leader of the Conservative Group of Camden Council, Cooper supported the development of the Belsize Village Streatery in the summer of 2020 as a measure to mitigate the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy[34] and help continue the revitalisation of the community started by the Belsize Village Business Association in October 2018.[35][36] Cooper coordinated the release of £55,911 in community infrastructure levy (CIL) funds (£18,637 from each ward of Belsize, Frognal and Fitzjohns and Hampstead Town) to fund the Belsize Village Streatery.[37] As the first scheme of its kind after the end of Lockdown 1 of COVID-19 restrictions in the UK, the Belsize Village Streatery received a ministerial visit on July 30, 2020 by then-Secretary of State Robert Jenrick, whose visit was hosted by Cooper.[38]
According to the Belsize Village Business Association, the Belsize Village Streatery "helped save several businesses and over 100 local jobs."[35] Data from Camden Council showed that amidst the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, spending in Belsize Village rose 111.6%[39] year-on-year to August-Oct 2020 against an overall difficult economic backdrop. A 14-day consultation held by Camden Council in the summer of 2021 found that 91.5% of residents and businesses supported extending the Belsize Village Streatery.[40] On 10 February 2022, Cooper spoke in favour of making the Belsize Village Streatery permanent at the Camden Council Licensing Committee; the permanence of the scheme was approved at the meeting. At the licensing committee, Cooper said, "The revitalisation of Belsize Village has been nothing short of a miracle in the last two years."[41]
Electoral results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Oliver Cooper | 2,693 | 50.9 |  8.0
| |
| Labour | Maddy Raman | 1,381 | 26.1 | 4.8
| |
| Green | Sophie Dix | 597 | 11.3 |  0.9
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Yannick Bultingaire | 543 | 10.3 | 13.3
| |
| Independent | Nigel Rumble | 73 | 1.4 | N/A | |
| Majority | 1,312 | 24.8 | |||
| Turnout | 5,287 | 67 | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Stephen Stark* | 1,522 | 14.6% | 0.7%
| |
| Conservative | Oliver Cooper* | 1,455 | 14.0% | 0.4%
| |
| Conservative | Maria Higson | 1,400 | 13.6% | 0.3%
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Linda Chung | 1,247 | 12.0% | 
| |
| Labour | Sue Cullinan | 898 | 8.6% | 1.0%
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Andrew Haslam Jones | 879 | 8.5% | 2.5%
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Will Coles | 826 | 7.9% | 2.3%
| |
| Labour | Sunny Mandich | 811 | 7.8% | 0.4%
| |
| Labour | James Slater | 799 | 7.7% | 1.4%
| |
| Green | Richard Dunham Bourne | 243 | 2.3% | 3.0%
| |
| Green | Michael Wulff Pawlyn | 175 | 1.7% | 2.1%
| |
| Green | Ramsay Short | 135 | 1.3% | 1.7%
| |
| Majority | 153 | 1.5% | 0.2%
| ||
| Turnout | 10,390 | 46.5% | 2.8%
| ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Tom Simon* | 1,494 | 47.4% | 12.3%
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Judy Dixey | 1,445 | 45.7% | 12.7%
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Matthew Kirk | 1,317 | 41.7% | 10.1%
| |
| Conservative | Oliver Cooper† | 1,124 | 35.6% | 2.8%
| |
| Conservative | Steve Adams* | 1,106 | 35.0% | 1.3%
| |
| Conservative | Aarti Joshi | 953 | 30.2% | 2.4%
| |
| Labour | Issy Waite | 705 | 22.3% | 7.6%
| |
| Labour | Shaheen Ahmed Chowdhury | 692 | 21.9% | 6.0%
| |
| Labour | Peter Ptashko | 644 | 20.4% | 6.8%
| |
| Turnout | 38.4 | ||||
| Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | |||||
| Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | |||||
| Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Oliver Cooper | 1,081 | 58.8 | 3.3
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Frank Mahon-Daly | 517 | 28.1 | 4.3
| |
| Green | Peter Loader | 130 | 7.1 | 0.6
| |
| Labour | Margaret Gallagher | 111 | 6.0 | 0.5
| |
| Majority | 564 | 30.7 | +7.6 | ||
| Turnout | 1,479 | 26.0 | –2.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 5,681 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | 3.8
|
|||
References edit
- ^ Pitel, Laura. "How tougher times have bred a harder edged young generation". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ Jones, Owen (2020). This Land: The Struggle for the Left. London: Penguin Books.
- ^ https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/former-leader-of-camden-conservatives-is-elected-again-in-hertfordshire
- ^ "Rainbow Tories: The geek, the fundraiser and the Tanzanian immigrant's". 10 April 2012.
- ^ https://www.markpack.org.uk/files/2017/02/ward-results.xlsx
- ^ https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/hampstead-town-hard-work-earned-us-victory-say-tories
- ^ https://richardosley.wordpress.com/2018/10/08/should-camdens-councillors-debate-brexit/
- ^ https://richardosley.wordpress.com/2018/07/21/the-lets-work-together-speech/
- ^ "Conservative leader set to switch wards for Belsize election challenge".
- ^ "Camden elections 2022: Tory leader toppled as Lib Dems take Belsize". 6 May 2022.
- ^ "I was leading from the front, says Tory leader who lost his seat".
- ^ "Former Tory leader heads to Watford after losing election battle in Belsize".
- ^ Booth, Robert; Halliday, Josh (10 April 2015). "Labour and Tory top brass told to stay away by constituencies" – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/former-leader-of-camden-conservatives-is-elected-again-in-hertfordshire
- ^ Telegraph, 26 September 2015, as cited in Johnson, Steve; Roffe, Graeme (2016). OCR GCSE (9–1) Citizenship Studies. London: Hodder Education.
- ^ Yorke, Harry; Ryan, Verity (29 May 2018). "Labour members outraged as far-Left activists disrupt minute's silence to Tessa Jowell". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ Correspondent, Fiona Hamilton | Richard Ford, Home. "Sadiq Khan rebuked for misusing crime figures". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Nellist, Tom (21 January 2019). "'Hateful' hard-left campaigners CONDEMNED for protesting council's antisemitism campaign". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Camden Tory leader intervenes in Islamophobic abuse". Metro. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "'Shock and horror' as antisemitic graffiti daubed on London shops and synagogue". Sky News.
- ^ Gibbons, Katie. "London synagogue and shops targeted in racist attack" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ Sheridan, Danielle (29 December 2019). "Police patrols increase at London synagogue in wake of New York stabbings after anti-Semitic graffiti daubed on shop fronts". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ Bowcott, Owen (29 December 2019). "London synagogue and shops targeted with antisemitic graffiti" – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "Anti-Semitic graffiti daubed on shops and cafes". BBC News. 29 December 2019.
- ^ Simpson, Craig (15 February 2022). "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? Author drawn into statue row as council reviews her memorial". The Telegraph.
- ^ "Virginia Woolf's Bloomsbury bust put on racism list".
- ^ Cooper, Oliver (28 July 2015). "Tories, don't vote for Jeremy Corbyn. It won't end well" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ Jones, Owen (2020). This Land: The Struggle for the Left. London: Penguin Books.
- ^ Fisher, Billy Kenber and Lucy. "Youth leader stood down after drug dealing threat" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ Reporter, Billy Kenber, Investigations. "Tories ignored claims of bullying in youth wing for a year, leaked emails reveal" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Fisher, Billy Kenber and Lucy. "How ego trip led the Tories into crisis" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ Fisher, Billy Kenber and Lucy. "Youth leader stood down after drug dealing threat" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ "BBC Three - Free Speech, Series 2 - Oliver Cooper". BBC.
- ^ Boniface, Michael (24 June 2020). "Alfresco summer dining plans for 100 outdoor tables will put Belsize Village 'on the map'". Hampstead Highgate Express. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ a b "We plan to relaunch the streatery on April 13". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ Rowlinson, Liz (3 March 2022). "Belsize Park's homebuyers stay for the long term". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ "The streatery has been amazing for Belsize Village". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ "Local government secretary Robert Jenrick: Get out there and don't waste the summer". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ Camden Council (2021). Camden Future High Streets. London Borough of Camden: Camden Council. p. 17.
- ^ Boniface, Michael (16 July 2021). "Belsize Village streatery survey results revealed". Hampstead Highgate Express. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ "Al fresco dining to continue in Belsize Village as councillors make 'miracle' pandemic scheme permanent". Camden Citizen. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.