Chuka Umunna

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Chuka Umunna
MP
Chuka at Lambeth College-2.JPG
Shadow Secretary of State for
Business, Innovation and Skills
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 October 2011
Leader Ed Miliband
Preceded by John Denham
Member of Parliament
for Streatham
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Keith Hill
Majority 3,259 (7.0%)
Personal details
Born (1978-10-17) 17 October 1978 (age 34)
London, United Kingdom
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Alma mater University of Manchester
University of Burgundy
Nottingham Law School
Occupation MP
Profession Solicitor
Religion Anglican
Website Official website

Chuka Harrison Umunna (born 17 October 1978) is the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham, and the Shadow Business Secretary.[1]

Contents

Early life [edit]

Umunna was born in the UK in 1978.[2] His father Bennett was a Nigerian of the Igbo ethnic group, originally from Awka; he died in a road accident in Nigeria in 1992.[3] His Irish mother, Patricia, is a solicitor and the daughter of the late High Court Judge Sir Helenus Milmo.[4] Umunna was educated at Hitherfield Primary School in Streatham, South London, at the voluntary aided Christ Church Primary School in Brixton Hill, and at the independent secondary school St Dunstan's College in Catford.[2][5] During this period he was also a chorister at Southwark Cathedral.[6][5][7][8][9] He has said that the Christian faith has influenced his political views.[10] He holds a LLB in English and French Law from the University of Manchester; after graduating he studied for one term at the University of Burgundy in Dijon, before studying for an MA at Nottingham Law School.

Career [edit]

Having completed his studies in 2002, he began as a solicitor at Herbert Smith in the City of London. In 2006 he joined Rochman Landau working in employment law.

From 2006 onwards, Umunna began to write and provide commentary on the Labour Party, social, and economic issues, usually as a member of the Management Committee of the Labour aligned Compass pressure group. He has written for the Financial Times, Tribune, The Voice, The Guardian and the New Statesman, and broadcast on radio and television.[11][12] He founded and edited an online political magazine, The Multicultural Politic. In 2007 he worked for John Cruddas' unsuccessful campaign to become Labour Deputy Leader.

Political career [edit]

Member of Parliament [edit]

In March 2008, Umunna was adopted as the Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for Streatham. At the 2010 general election, he was elected Member of Parliament for Streatham with a 3,259 majority; he gave his maiden speech on 2 June 2010.[13] He took a particular interest in economic policy, and reform of the City and was subsequently elected to serve on the Treasury Select Committee.[14]

Umunna has argued that the 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.[15][16][17] Umunna was one of 73 Labour MPs to nominate Ed Miliband in the 2010 Labour leadership election to find a successor to Gordon Brown.[18] Following Miliband's election, Umunna was appointed to serve as his Parliamentary Private Secretary until he was promoted to be Shadow Minister for Small Business and Enterprise. In January 2011, Umunna questioned the Chief Executive of Barclays, Bob Diamond, in relation to alleged tax avoidance activities by the bank during which he disclosed that the bank used over 300 subsidiary companies in offshore jurisdictions.[19] In response to a question from Umunna, Diamond admitted in February 2011 that Barclays had paid £113m in UK corporation tax in 2009, despite making £11.6bn in profit.[20]

Shadow Cabinet [edit]

Umunna was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Business Secretary on 7 October 2011, replacing John Denham, who announced his retirement from front-bench politics.[21] Following his appointment, Umunna re-affirmed Labour's commitment to introducing a graduate tax in place of university tuition fees if it wins the election due in May 2015. In January 2012, Umunna joined Ed Miliband and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rachel Reeves in calling on Prime Minister David Cameron to block a £1.6m bonus for Stephen Hester, the Chief Executive Officer of the publicly owned Royal Bank of Scotland Group.[22] Umunna rejected the claim by Cameron that the government were unable to act due to their "hands being tied by the last Labour government", and announced with Miliband that Labour would be holding a Commons debate and vote on bonuses paid to other RBS Group executives.[23]

Online activity [edit]

In April 2013, The Sun alleged that in 2007 Umunna, using the Wikipedia Username Socialdemocrat, created and repeatedly edited his own Wikipedia page. The newspaper highlighted edits such as those describing Umunna as the British Barack Obama and 'gifted'.[24][25] Umunna told the Daily Telegraph that he did not alter his own Wikipedia page, but the paper quoted what they called "sources close to Umunna" as having told the newspaper that "it was possible that one of his campaign team in 2007, when he was trying to be selected to be Labour's candidate for Streatham in the 2010 general election, set up the page."[26] On 11 April 2013, the Evening Standard alleged that an edit in January 2008 was made on a computer at the law firm at which he then worked. Umunna said that he had "no recollection" of doing so.[27].

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Labour appoints fresh face to replace John Denham". Times Higher Education. 7 October 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Profile of Chuka Umunna from This Is Local London
  3. ^ Bloss, Andrew (08-03-12). "Friends fear Crystal Palace director was assassinated". London: The Croydon Guardian. Retrieved 2012-10-02. 
  4. ^ "The British Obama? No, Labour high-flyer Chuka's the black Blair". Daily Mail. 30 September 2012. 
  5. ^ a b "Chuka Umunna sidesteps Labour leadership question". The Daily Telegraph. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012. 
  6. ^ Kevin Maguire, The New Statesman (23 April 2012). Accessed 18 April 2013.
  7. ^ 'Chuka Umunna Coy About Leadership Ambitions', Sky News (1 October 2012). Accessed 18 April 2013.
  8. ^ Peter McKay, Mail Online (27 January 2013). Accessed 18 April 2013.
  9. ^ Alice Foster, 'Streatham MP Chuka Umunna would be "arrogant" to talk about Labour leadership bid', Streatham Guardian (2 October 2012). Accesed 18 April 2013.
  10. ^ 'Chuka Umunna: "I'm fed up with being in the shadows"', 4 News (30 September 2012). Accessed 18 April 2013.
  11. ^ Umunna, Chuka, “The duty to inspire”, New Statesman, 30 August 2007
  12. ^ Umunna, Chuka, “Ask the expert: Diversity in the City”, Financial Times, 11 September 2006
  13. ^ House of Commons Hansard Debates for 02 Jun 2010 (pt 0015)
  14. ^ Treasury Committee - membership - UK Parliament
  15. ^ New Statesman - The man’s not for turning
  16. ^ Credit Rating Agencies: 16 Nov 2010: House of Commons debates - TheyWorkForYou
  17. ^ New Clause 3 — Bank taxation: 8 Nov 2010: House of Commons debates - TheyWorkForYou
  18. ^ "Ed Miliband: Nominations". labour.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2010. 
  19. ^ O'Hare, Sean (17 January 2011). "Labour MP urges Barclay's chief to reduce offshore subsidaries [sic]". The Daily Telegraph (London). 
  20. ^ Treannor, Jill (18 February 2011). "Barclays bank forced to admit it paid just £113m in corporation tax in 2009". The Guardian (London). 
  21. ^ "Ed Miliband promotes fresh faces to Labour top team". BBC News. 7 October 2011. 
  22. ^ Syal, Rajeev (23 January 2012). "Ed Miliband calls for Stephen Hester to be denied a reported £1.6m RBS bonus". The Guardian (London). 
  23. ^ "Duncan Smith: RBS bonus veto would have caused chaos". BBC News. 29 January 2012. 
  24. ^ Heighton, Luke (6 April 2013). "Chuka’s Wiki’d act". The Sun. Retrieved 2013-04-07. 
  25. ^ Kember, Billy (12 April 2013). "Flattering ‘British Obama’ edit on Wikipedia raises questions for MP Chuka Umunna". The Times (London). Retrieved 2013-04-12. 
  26. ^ Hope, Christopher (7 April 2013). "Labour star Chuka Umunna admits his aides probably set up and edited his own Wikipedia page". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-04-08. 
  27. ^ Watts, Joseph (11 April 2013). "Mystery deepens over who changed Wikipedia entry of Labour star Chuka Umunna". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2013-04-11. 

External links [edit]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Keith Hill		 Member of Parliament for Streatham
2010 – present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
John Denham		 Shadow Business Secretary
2011 – present		 Incumbent
Leadership
Shadow Cabinet Members
Also Attending Meetings
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chuka_Umunna&oldid=555795285"