Paul Kohler (politician)

Paul Kohler
MP
Paul Kohler MP
	Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament; for Wimbledon
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 4 July 2024
Preceded by	Stephen Hammond
Majority	12,610 (22.9%)
Liberal Democrat portfolios
2024–present	Transport
Personal details
Born	Paul Christopher Kohler
Political party	Liberal Democrats
Alma mater	Jesus College, Cambridge

Paul Christopher Kohler is a British politician, nightclub owner, and academic serving as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Wimbledon since 2024.^[1] Prior to his election, he was a scholar of property law who served as head of SOAS University of London's School of Law.

Early life and education

Kohler graduated from Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in law. During his time at university he was May Ball President, where fellow Jesus undergraduate Prince Edward served on his committee. He was also elected JCR President.^[2]

Career

In the 1990s and 2000s, Kohler taught at University College London (UCL) and New College, Oxford. He was also Head of Best Practice at Nabarro Nathanson. Until 2019 before standing for Parliament, Kohler was a senior lecturer and former undergraduate tutor at SOAS University of London, where he served as head of the SOAS School of Law.^[3] He is also a Visiting Fellow at Queen Mary University of London and owner of Covent Garden speakeasy CellarDoor, which he converted from a disused underground Gentlemen's public lavatory in 2006. He was previously a Fellow at Moscow's Russian State University of Justice but resigned in the wake of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Kohler first represented the Liberal Democrats in the 2018 local elections, achieving election as a councillor in the Trinity ward of Merton London Borough Council.^[4] A year later, he was selected as the party's candidate for the constituency of Wimbledon at the 2019 general election. He was defeated by the incumbent Conservative MP, Stephen Hammond, but greatly increased the Lib Dems' vote share to a second-placed 19,745 (37.2%), reducing Hammond's majority to just 628 votes.^[5] He was once again elected to the council in Merton at the 2022 local elections, this time as one of three Lib Dem councillors in the Wimbledon Town and Dundonald ward.^[6] After once again securing the party's nomination for the Wimbledon parliamentary constituency at the 2024 general election, he gained the seat from the Conservatives (Hammond having not sought re-election^[7]), with a vote share of 24,790 (45.1%) and a majority of 12,610 (22.9%).^[8]

He is currently the Lib Dem front bench spokesperson on Transport and a member of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee.

Personal life

Kohler is married with four daughters. ^[9] He sustained severe injuries after he was beaten by burglars during a raid at his home in 2014. He suffered a fractured eye socket, broken nose and severe internal bleeding.^[10]