Philip Gould, Baron Gould of Brookwood
Philip Gould Baron Gould of Brookwood | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 30, 1950 |
| Died | November 6, 2011 (aged 61) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | East London College |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Political consultant |
| Organizations |
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| Spouse | Gail Rebuck |
Philip Gould, Baron Gould of Brookwood (30 March 1950[1]–6 November 2011) was a British political consultant, and former advertising executive, closely linked to the Labour Party. Appointed by Director of Communications Peter Mandelson, he was strategy and polling adviser to the Labour Party[2] in the general elections of 1987, 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2005. Involved in 'modernising' the party's image, Gould was particularly connected with Tony Blair and New Labour.
Early life and education
Gould grew up in Woking, where his father was a headmaster, but failed his 11-plus and went to a Secondary modern school. Leaving school with only one O-level, he went on to study at East London College, based in Toynbee Hall, where he gained four A-levels. He subsequently won a place at the University of Sussex in 1971 to study politics, graduating in 1974.[3] Gould then went to the London School of Economics to study for an MSc in the history of political thought, where he was taught by the political scientist Michael Oakeshott. Later he returned to the LSE to teach a course in Politics and Communication.
Career
After a career in advertising, and with the success of his wife Gail Rebuck (later CEO of Random House UK), whom he had met at Sussex, Gould founded his own polling and strategy company, Philip Gould Associates, in 1985. Appointed by Mandelson, Gould recruited the Shadow Communications Agency, a team of communication volunteers, who created Labour's admired, if unsuccessful, 1987 election campaign. This led to his position of influence within the Labour Party under Neil Kinnock and Tony Blair.
In the afterword of his (only) book The Unfinished Revolution: How the Modernisers Saved the Labour Party (1998) he proposed the amalgamation of the Labour and Liberal Democratic Parties, the purpose of this being the unity of all anti-conservative forces in Britain. This, he said, should facilitate the creation of "the progressive century", "a century in which progressive politics can take hold, and in which the great majority of working people are helped and supported … not now and again but again and again", this being in contrast to the previous "conservative century".
He was the writer of a leaked memo which, in 2000, described the New Labour brand as being contaminated.[4]
On 7 June 2004 he was made a life peer as Baron Gould of Brookwood, of Brookwood in the County of Surrey.
Preceding an interview with Andrew Marr on the Sunday morning BBC TV show, 18 September 2011, it was revealed that his treatment for three-times recurring cancer of the oesophagus had been unsuccessful, and that he would have only a few months to live. He discussed this in detail in the interview. Despite his lifelong avowal of labour politics, he flew to New Yorks's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to receive privately funded surgery from Murray Brennan rather than trust the National Health Service.
He died on 6 November 2011. He is survived by his wife Gail Rebuck and two daughters, Grace and Georgia.
Works
- Gould, Philip (1999). The Unfinished Revolution: How the Modernisers Saved the Labour Party Abacus, ISBN 0-349-11177-4
References
- ^ "Lord Gould of Brookwood obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ "Labour peer Philip Gould has died aged 61", BBC News, 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Philip Gould in the Education: Passed/Failed series". The Independent. 1998-12-03.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "UK POLITICS | New memo leak hits Blair". BBC News. 2000-07-19. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
- Introduction in the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 19 July 2004