43 Facts About Chuka Umunna

Chuka Umunna left Labour in February 2019, when he resigned to form The Independent Group, later Change UK, along with six other MPs.

Chuka Umunna then studied law at the University of Manchester and Nottingham Trent University.

Chuka Umunna worked as a solicitor in the City of London, first for Herbert Smith and then for Rochman Landau, while writing articles for the Compass think tank.

Chuka Umunna was selected as Labour's parliamentary candidate for Streatham in 2008, and was elected MP in the 2010 general election.

Chuka Umunna sat on the Treasury Select Committee until 2011, when he joined Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Chuka Umunna was re-elected in the 2015 and 2017 general elections.

Chuka Umunna was its group spokesperson but left in June 2019 to sit as an independent MP following "disappointing" European Parliament election results showing the party had "failed to get a single MEP elected".

One week later, Chuka Umunna joined the Liberal Democrats and was appointed their Treasury and Business Spokesperson by leader Vince Cable.

Chuka Umunna stood for Cities of London and Westminster in the 2019 general election but lost to Nickie Aiken of the Conservatives.

Chuka Umunna was born in Lambeth, London on 17 October 1978.

Chuka Umunna was educated at Hitherfield Primary School in Streatham, South London, and the Christ Church Primary School in Brixton Hill.

Chuka Umunna says his parents felt that the local state school had "given up on him" and as a result had moved him to the boys' independent senior school St Dunstan's College, in Catford in south-east London, where he played the cello.

Chuka Umunna was awarded an upper second class Bachelor of Laws in English and French Law from the University of Manchester.

Chuka Umunna wrote articles for the Financial Times, Tribune, The Voice, The Guardian and the New Statesman, and began to appear on various radio and television programmes as a commentator.

Chuka Umunna founded and edited the online political magazine, The Multicultural Politic.

In March 2008, Chuka Umunna was adopted as the Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for Streatham.

Chuka Umunna took a particular interest in economic policy and reform of the City.

Chuka Umunna described himself as being "One Nation Labour" and has written articles promoting the "Blue Labour" trend.

Chuka Umunna argued the Conservative-led coalition government should revise its programme of fiscal consolidation, take a tougher stance with the British banking industry and take action to transform the credit ratings agency market.

Chuka Umunna was one of 63 Labour MPs to nominate Ed Miliband in the 2010 Labour leadership election to succeed Gordon Brown as party leader.

In June 2010, Chuka Umunna was elected as a member of the Treasury Select Committee.

Chuka Umunna held this position on the Select Committee until his appointment as Shadow Minister for Small Business and Enterprise.

In October 2010, following Miliband's election as party leader, Chuka Umunna was appointed to serve as his Parliamentary Private Secretary and, in May 2011, he was appointed to the position of Shadow Minister for Small Business and Enterprise until his promotion to the Shadow Cabinet.

Chuka Umunna was promoted as Shadow Business Secretary on 7 October 2011, replacing John Denham, who announced his retirement from front-bench politics.

In early May 2014, Chuka Umunna raised concerns in Parliament and public over the proposed takeover of AstraZeneca, by the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, on the grounds of ensuring British jobs and interests.

In May 2014, Chuka Umunna criticised fellow Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham's report into possible methods of restricting the sale and advertising of alcohol, unhealthy foods, and tobacco.

Chuka Umunna was quoted as having said that such courses of action as outlined in the report would be seen to be "anti-business and interventionist".

Chuka Umunna has argued for a British federal state on multiple occasions, and has said that progressives should not dismiss George Osborne's notion of a "Northern Powerhouse", arguing that greater devolution, federalisation of the UK Labour Party into individual Labour Parties representing each component nation of the UK, greater political autonomy for England in particular, more regional powers and "wholescale federalisation" are necessary to advance the Labour Party.

In September 2015, following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as the Leader of the Labour Party, Chuka Umunna announced his resignation from the Shadow Cabinet and returned to the backbenches, citing differences over the Brexit referendum and issues of collective ministerial responsibility.

Chuka Umunna subsequently voted for the unmodified bill to leave the EU, writing with Wes Streeting that "as democrats we must abide by the national result".

On 15 April 2018, Chuka Umunna attended the launch event of the People's Vote, a campaign group calling for a public vote on the final Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union.

Chuka Umunna wrote that the campaign to leave the EU lied during the campaign and broke the law spending more money than was allowed.

Chuka Umunna has stated that the British people now know the truth and should have a second say over whether the UK leaves the European Union.

On 24 May 2019, Chuka Umunna wrote in the i newspaper that Change UK would be open to a pro-EU pact with the Liberal Democrats in order to unite the Remain vote.

Subsequently, Change UK's new leader, Anna Soubry, said that Chuka Umunna had made a "serious mistake" in leaving the party.

On 13 June 2019, Chuka Umunna announced to The Times he would be joining the Liberal Democrats.

Chuka Umunna told the BBC he had been "wrong" to think "millions of politically homeless people wanted a new party", while referring to moving from Change UK.

Chuka Umunna added, under Britain's voting system, there would not be "room for more than one centre ground" party in a general election.

At the 2019 United Kingdom general election, Chuka Umunna stood in Cities of London and Westminster, and lost to the Conservative Party candidate, Nickie Aiken.

Since April 2020, Chuka Umunna has been a non-executive director of Advanced and an adviser to Digital Identity Net UK.

In July 2020 Chuka Umunna was appointed executive director and head of the Environmental, Social, Governance consultancy within the specialist capital markets and financial services team at public relations and marketing consultancy firm Edelman UK.

Chuka Umunna has said that his politics and moral values come from Christianity, but that he is "not majorly religious".

Several years before he left politics, Chuka Umunna was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2015.