Karl Andrew Mennear has been a Conservative councillor in the London Borough of Camden in the United Kingdom since 1998. He represents the Frognal and Fitzjohns ward, and during the LibDem-Conservative "temporary stewardship"[1] of the borough, from 2006 to 2010, was executive member for schools.
He was the Conservative candidate for Hampstead and Highgate in the 2001 General Election and then stood for Finchley and Golders Green in the 2005 General Election. He came within one thousand votes of recapturing Finchley, the former seat of Margaret Thatcher.
Mennear came to national prominence in January 2005 when he criticised a pre-released Labour poster campaign as being tasteless.[2] The poster, which presented pictures of the heads of Michael Howard and Oliver Letwin superimposed on winged pigs, was withdrawn in February 2005. The controversy forms part of an ongoing struggle over political advertising which dates from the Conservative "demon eyes" poster of 1997.[3]
Mennear was criticised by the gay rights group Stonewall in December 2004, when he asked for a contribution to Camden to cover costs incurred from the need to clean up Hampstead Heath due to gay sexual encounters.[4] He has been replaced as candidate for Finchley and Golders Green by Mike Freer, one of a number of openly gay Conservatives who have emerged as prospective MPs under new leader David Cameron.
After Labour re-gained control of Camden council in May 2010, Mennear was replaced as schools chief by Heather Johnson. After the death of Martin Davies just a few months later, Mennear was chosen to replace him as Tory group leader.[5]
He was educated at Whitley Bay High School, and proceeded to Oxford University.