Chuka Umunna to run for UK Labour Party Leadership

Chuka Umunna, a centre-left politician who specialises in business policy, said on Tuesday he would run for the leadership of Britain’s opposition Labour Party after it suffered a heavy defeat in a national election last week, according to reuters.

Umunna, the son of a Nigerian immigrant, is a former lawyer who was first elected to parliament in 2010 and has been Labour’s business spokesman since 2011. He is one of the bookmakers’ favourites to win the job of party leader.

“I am pleased today to be announcing that I will be standing for the leadership of the party,” Umunna, 37, said in a video posted on Facebook.

“Some have actually suggested over the last few days that somehow this is now a 10 year project to get the Labour Party back into office … I think the Labour Party can do it in five years, I want to lead that effort.”

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