Clare Coghill (GB)

Clare Coghill was elected to the London Borough of Waltham Forest in May 2010 to represent the High Street ward in Walthamstow. She became Junior Cabinet Member for Health later in the same year. Subsequently, she held a junior portfolio focused on own Centres.

Clare was appointed as Cabinet Member for Children and Young People in May 2012, leading the Council’s work on Children’s Social Care, Safeguarding and Education.

In 2014, Clare was appointed the Cabinet Member for Economic Growth & High Streets and led a fresh approach to regeneration, planning and development. Waltham Forest has excellent infrastructure, green space and transport links, therefore the priorities lie in developing new, good quality, affordable housing and vibrant town centres. Clare’s

policy innovations in this role focussed on pubs, the night-time economy and economic growth.

In January 2017 Clare was elected as Leader of the Labour Group at Waltham Forest Council, and subsequently elected as Leader of the Council at the AGM of Full Council on 25th May 2017. Clare was re-elected Leader of the Council for a 4 year term at the AGM of Full council on 24th May 2018.

Clare believes in the transformative power of culture, and during her time as Leader, Waltham Forest was announced as the Mayor of London’s first ever London Borough of Culture. In June 2019, Waltham Forest Council was named ‘Local Authority of the Year’ at the prestigious Municipal Journal Awards.

Clare was born and raised in the West Midlands, and went on to study English Literature at the University of York, followed by a Master’s degree in English Literature and Translation at the University of Montpellier, in the south of France