Sarah Hayward

Sarah Hayward is a British Labour Party politician, who, since 2012 has been Leader of the London Borough of Camden. She successfully challenged Nasim Ali for leadership of the Labour group in 2012.^[1]

Early life and career

Hayward grew up in Oxfordshire in a single-parent family, in which her mother worked in low paid jobs and she worked as a 12-year-old to supplement her mothers earnings. She describes this as a defining moment attracting her to socialism.^[2] She graduated from the University of Hull with a degree in law and politics. She then moved to London and worked at Sainsburys for two years, before joining a publishing company. She joined the Ministry of Defence before resigning in protest over the Invasion of Iraq.^[3] Hayward says she was drawn to Camden by a 'love of grungy pubs and even grungier music'.

Political career

Before being elected, she worked for the London Labour Party and the Fawcett Society. She has represented the King's Cross ward since 2010 and entered Cabinet as Member for Communities, Regeneration and Equalities. ^[4] She currently serves as a member of the Health and Wellbeing Board and a number of sub-committees.^[5] In 2013 she strongly defended the council against a report by the Taxpayers Alliance^[6] on Channel 5 News. In 2014, she sought to be selected as Labour candidate to replace retiring incumbent Frank Dobson; however, Keir Starmer was selected instead.^[7] She has written a number of articles for The Guardian.^[8]

Hayward supported Liz Kendall during the Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2015 despite the Holborn and St Pancras Labour Party endorsing Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn was the eventual winner, with Kendall coming last with less than 5% of the vote.

In January 2016, Hayward's council cabinet colleague Sally Gimson stated that she was "seriously considering" challenging Hayward for leadership of the Labour group.^[9]

References