Kohler was the first person in his extended family to go to university. However,he dropped out from his maths degree,because of touring commitments in the Gotham City Swing Band,a new wave outfit whose greatest claim to fame was playing the last night of the punk venue,The Roxy.[citation needed] He subsequently returned to university and graduated in 1986 from Jesus College,Cambridge,with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in law. During his time at the University of Cambridge,he was president of the college May Ball committee,with fellow Jesus undergraduate Prince Edward also on the committee.[2] He was also elected Junior Common Room president.[3]
Kohler first represented the Liberal Democrats in the 2018 local elections,being elected as a councillor in the Trinity ward of Merton London Borough Council.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] 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[8]),with a vote share of 24,790 (45.1%) and a majority of 12,610 (22.9%).[9]
Kohler is married to Samantha MacArthur,a company director and Merton Liberal Democrat councillor,with whom he has four daughters.[10]
In 2014 he sustained severe injuries when he was beaten by burglars during a raid at his home. He suffered a fractured eye socket,broken nose and severe internal bleeding.[11][12] However,he credits that attack,and the subsequent restorative justice session in which he met one of his attackers,as the reason for his belated decision to enter active politics.[13][14]
Bibliography
Books
Property Law:Commentary and Materials (2006),with Alison Clarke;part of Law in Context
Articles and chapters
"Property Law" in Current Legal Problems Vol 46 (1993)
"The Death of Ownership and the Demise of Property" in Current Legal Problems Vol 53 (2000)
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