Philip Gould’s Life and Work

Abstract

Philip Gould’s death on 6 November 2011 at the age of 61 evoked a remarkable response. For over 30 years he had achieved some fame as a political strategist, probably the first self-described one in British politics, and one who played a crucial role in the development of New Labour and in the party’s three general election victories between 1997 and 2005. Political figures across parties paid generous tributes to him. In his last months he had fought and movingly recorded in a series of newspaper articles and a television interview his losing battle with oesophageal cancer. The brave way he confronted death inspired other sufferers and brought his life and death to the attention of a much wider public.