POLITICS& ECONOMY Umunna bows out of Labour leadership race Yorkshire rivals gear up for top job
CHUKA UMUNNA has backed out of the Labour leadership contest as Yorkshire’s candidates gear up for a head to head battle.
Shadow Business Secretary Mr Umunna quit the race just three days after entering following intense scrutiny into his private life.
Mr Umunna said his girlfriend and the pair’s elderly relatives were the subject of Press inquires after he became the frontrunner in the contest to replace Ed MIliband.
He said: “As a member of the Shadow Cabinet, I am used to a level of attention which is part and parcel of the job. I witnessed the 2010 leadership election process close up and thought I would be comfortable with what it involved.
“However, since the night of our defeat last week, I have been subject to the added level of pressure that comes with being a leadership candidate.
“I have not found it to be a comfortable experience.
“One can imagine what running for leader can be like, understand its demands and the attention but nothing compares to actually doing it and the impact on the rest of one’s life.
“Consequently, after further reflection I am withdrawing my candidacy.”
His decision to step down comes as leadership contenders prepare to have their say at a Progress group conference, with the main candidates sharing a stage for the first time.
Neighbouring Yorkshire MPs Mary Creagh and Yvette Cooper will be among those given the chance to set out how Labour wins back votes, a subject Wakefield MP Mrs Creagh addressed yesterday when she admitted there may have been some mistakes in Labour’s deficit strategy before the global financial crisis.
During the campaign, Mr Miliband faced a rough ride from a TV audience over his refusal to accept borrowing was allowed to expand too far.
“I think it was probably a mistake for us to run a small structural deficit in the run-up to that financial crisis, in hindsight,” Mrs Creagh said.
“The global financial crisis did not happen because Labour built 100 hospitals and 4,000 new schools. It happened because we failed to regulate the banking sector adequately.
“The Tories want to paint our record as one of overspending because they want to brush over the fact that we combated a global financial crisis and a massive banking crisis.”
Mrs Creagh went on to reveal how she was inspired to stand for leader after fighting for the family of the two young children who died of carbon monoxide poisoning while on holiday in Corfu .
The MP said she made up her mind to throw her hat in the ring while she was with the parents of Bobby and Christi Shepherd on Wednesday after an inquest jury concluded tour operator Thomas Cook “breached their duty of care”.
After the case she was among those hailed by the children’s mother Sharon Wood for her role in the case.
“I made my decision when I was in Wakefield on Wednesday with the family of Bobby and Christi Shepherd and I realised that people need strong Labour MPs and a strong Labour government on their side to fight for justice and to fight for what they need,” Ms Creagh said.
She added that she was “quietly confident” of securing the formal backing of the 35 Commons party colleagues required to get on the ballot paper for the contest.
Some Labour figures questioned whether Dan Jarvis – the paratrooper-turned-politician who ruled himself out of the contest to concentrate on family life – could re-enter the frame.
Bassetlaw MP John Mann wrote on Twitter of the Barnsley Central MP: “With Chuka withdrawing – a credible option according to some in my area – can Dan Jarvis not be persuaded to reconsider?”
He suggested: “Make it possible for him to do fatherhood and leadership and move party HQ to Yorkshire.”
Mr Jarvis was not commenting on the suggestions last night.
I have not found it to be a comfortable experience. Chuka Umunna on Press scrutiny.