Umunna tipped to win powerful committee role left vacant by Vaz
CHUKA UMUNNA is tipped to take over as chairman of the home affairs select committee today following the resignation of scandal-hit MP Keith Vaz.
The position — regarded as one of the most influential in the Commons — was left vacant last month after allegations that Mr Vaz used male prostitutes several months after the committee carried out a vice inquiry. Streatham MP Mr Umunna, 38, has the backing of the majority of Tories on the committee, of which he is a member, and is expected to take the job despite strong competition from Yvette Cooper, the former shadow home secretary, and former minister Caroline Flint.
MPs cast their ballot this morning for Mr Vaz’s successor and also for the chair of the new Exiting the European Union Committee — set up to scrutinise the work of Brexit Secretary David Davis’s department. This is a run-off between Hilary Benn and Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall. Results for both com- mittee chairs were due later today. Tory MP David Burrowes, who sits on the home affairs select committee, said: “I reckon it’s between Chuka Umunna and Yvette Cooper because they seem to have significant cross-party support.
“Yvette benefits from the backing of Conservative select committee chairs ... while Chuka has the support of the current Conservative MPs on the home affairs select committee — apart from me. So it’s all to play for.”