Georgia Gould is almost certain to win in Queen’s Park and Maida Vale on July 4

RISHI Sunak’s decision to call the July 4 general election has sent unexpected tremors through Camden after it was confirmed last night (Wednesday) that council leader Georgia Gould has been selected for a safe Labour seat.

She will be the parliamentary candidate in Camden’s neighbouring constituency of Queen’s Park and Maida Vale after being selected by party organisers.

The vacancy arose after Labour MP Karen Buck announced her retirement. Cllr Gould has led Camden for seven years and faced the unprecedented challenges of the Chalcots PFI fire safety scandal, Covid and the cost-of-living crisis.

She told the New Journal that she was proud of the difference she had made “alongside Camden’s amazing community”, adding: “When I became leader I promised to bring the community into the heart of decision making and we have done this with a groundswell of community action across the borough.”

The prime minister’s surprise election announcement last Wednesday triggered a rush to get candidates in all constituencies and criticism of Labour’s National Executive Committee that it was stopping members from having a vote on who their candidates should be  often seen as one of the key benefits of paying monthly subs to a political party.

In Queen’s Park and Maida Vale, contenders for the candidacy were interviewed. They were said to include Westminster City Council leader Adam Hug, who was later tweeting congratulations to Cllr Gould.

The overall national process has been described as a “rush for the last train to the Commons” as activists with an interest in becoming MPs are aware there may well be a long wait until the next general election, while winning on July 4 probably means being part of the ruling party at Westminster.

Cllr Gould, the daughter of the late Labour pollster Lord Gould and publishing powerhouse Dame Gail Rebuck, was urged to run to be an MP in Erith and Thamesmead early in life but instead put herself forward to be a councillor.

She added: “These 14 years have seen us facing bruising cuts. We have had to fight every step of the way to protect public services and our communities from the worst of savage cuts and the cost of living crisis. Our communities need national change, which is why I have taken the decision to put myself forward for parliament to help change the country.”

She could find herself sworn into the Commons on the same day as one of her lieutenants at the council, as regeneration chief Danny Beales is having a second bite at the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.

He lost a by-election there last year, blaming his narrow defeat in Boris Johnson’s old patch on Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion.

The other potential cabinet councillor to be on the move was Richard Olszewski, the Town Hall’s finance supremo who had made little secret about his ambitions in Dudley; his social media photographs regularly show him on the doorstep in the west Midlands. But last night (Wednesday) it was announced that the party had selected Sonia Kumar as its candidate there.

As the New Journal revealed earlier this year, a fourth Camden Labour councillor will also be on the ballot paper, with chief whip Lloyd Hatton busy campaigning in South Dorset ­and hoping a Labour landslide turns over a Tory majority of 17,000 there. There will be council ward by-elections to replace any of the councillors who win on July 4 – meaning some residents will be asked to go to the polling stations three times in little more than four months.

With the prospect of Cllr Gould potentially being selected, there was already speculation about who might succeed her as the next Camden Council leader.

The WhatsApp messages rattled over the weekend with environment chief Councillor Adam Harrison’s name, but last night Cllr Olszewski’s name was being mentioned too. There could also be interest in a wider shake-up among figures from the 2022 council elections intake of councillors. Cllr Gould said the ruling group she would be leaving behind was “our most diverse team representing every part of our community”, adding: “I know this group will take Camden into the future with care and dedication.”

Camden’s history of seeing councillors graduate from the council chamber to the House of Commons is the stuff of legend.

Tulip Siddiq, the Hampstead and Kilburn MP, was a local councillor here before being selected to follow in Glenda Jackson’s footsteps. Nick Smith in the Welsh constituency of Blaneau Gwent will also be familiar to those with longer memories for his time as Camden’s education chief. The Conservative MPs Chris Philp, Siobhan Baillie and Laura Trott were also councillors in the borough before reaching parliament.

Former Green councillor Sian Berry is looking to get there too as she stands in Brighton Pavilion, hoping to defend the seat famously held by Caroline Lucas, the only member of her party to ever be elected to the Commons.

Another ex-councillor, Labour hopeful Abdul Hai, has also been pushing to get selected in east London.