Philip Gould defends daughter’s hopes

Lord Gould of Brookwood - aka Philip Gould, one of Tony Blair's closest advisors when he was Prime Minister - has leapt to the defence of his daughter, Georgina, who has found her attempt to be selected for a super-safe Labour seat dogged by accusations of nepotism.

Georgina, a 22-year-old Oxford graduate who joined the Labour Party at the age of 15, could become one of the youngest MPs ever if she is elected for the London seat of Erith and Thamesmead, which was won at the last election by sitting MP John Austin with a seemingly unassailable 11,500 majority. But the selection process has caused a major rift within Labour, with Gordon Brown’s former aide Charlie Whelan backing young Gould's competitor, union official Rachel Maskell.

An unnamed Labour MP told the London Evening Standard that Georgina’s inclusion was "a stich-up", saying that the New Labour machine has swung behind her, and nobody else has a look-in".

And these views are supported on a blog used by Kent Labour activists. One recent post read: "A 22-year-old upper-middle-class daughter of a smarmy high priest of New Labour would go down as well here as a bucket of week-old vomit. If she is selected, my money's on a shock Tory gain."

All this has enraged Lord Gould. "It is outrageous and unacceptable that people are conducting a smear campaign of this sort against my daughter,” he said. “This is simply unacceptable and must stop. Georgia has received absolutely no preferential treatment whatsoever, and has done it all on her own. Any success she has is from her own efforts and hard work, her own drive and determination."

That said, Georgina certainly has some friends in high places. Not only has she worked for Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation, but she also has the support of Alastair Campbell, who has joined Gould in defending her. "Not just in Erith but right round the country, if Labour is going to stay in power, we need young people with energy, passion and hope," says Campbell.
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