Chuka Umunna
Chuka Umunna | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 17, 1978 Lambeth, London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, former politician |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Known for | Member of Parliament for Streatham (2010–2019), Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (2011–2015) |
Chuka Harrison Umunna (born 17 October 1978) is a British entrepreneur and ex-politician who represented Streatham as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2010 until 2019. Originally affiliated with the Labour Party, he held a position in the Shadow Cabinet between 2011 and 2015. In February 2019, Umunna departed from Labour to establish The Independent Group, which later became Change UK, before ultimately joining the Liberal Democrats. He was unseated in the 2019 general election.
Umunna was born in Lambeth to a Nigerian father and an English-Irish mother. His education includes St Dunstan's College, the University of Manchester, and Nottingham Trent University. During his teenage years, he was initially aligned with the Liberal Democrats but switched to Labour in 1997 amid the New Labour movement. Professionally, he worked as a solicitor in London for Herbert Smith and Rochman Landau while also engaging with the Compass think tank.
Chosen as Labour’s Streatham candidate in 2008, Umunna secured election as MP in 2010. He was associated with the Blue Labour faction, which critiques neoliberal economic policies. After serving on the Treasury Select Committee, he was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills under Ed Miliband’s leadership in 2011. He won re-election in both 2015 and 2017 but resigned from the Shadow Cabinet following Jeremy Corbyn’s rise to party leadership.
During the 2016 EU referendum, Umunna supported the Remain side and later pushed for a second Brexit referendum. In early 2019, he co-founded The Independent Group and acted as its spokesperson before leaving in June due to disappointing results in European elections. Subsequently, he joined the Liberal Democrats, taking on roles as Treasury and Business Spokesperson under Vince Cable and later Foreign Affairs and International Trade Spokesperson under Jo Swinson. He stood for election in Cities of London and Westminster in 2019 but was unsuccessful.
In 2021, Umunna transitioned to JPMorgan Chase as Managing Director overseeing its Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) advisory division based in London. By July 2024, he advanced to become Global Head of Sustainable Solutions & EMEA Head of Green Economy Investment Banking, co-leading JPMorgan’s worldwide ESG operations.
Early life and career
Born on 17 October 1978 in Lambeth, south London, Umunna’s father Bennett belonged to the Nigerian Igbo ethnic group and ran an import-export business before his death in a road accident in Nigeria in 1992. His mother Patricia Milmo is a solicitor of English-Irish descent. His maternal grandparents were Joan Frances Morley, Lady Milmo, and Sir Helenus Milmo QC, a judge of the High Court.
Umunna attended Hitherfield Primary School in Streatham followed by Christ Church Primary School in Brixton Hill. Due to concerns about local state education quality, his parents enrolled him at the independent St Dunstan's College in Catford, where he played cello and sang as a chorister at Southwark Cathedral. As an adolescent, he was affiliated with the Liberal Democrats. He graduated with an upper second-class Bachelor of Laws degree specializing in English and French law from the University of Manchester, spent a term studying at the University of Burgundy in Dijon, then earned a Master of Arts from Nottingham Trent University’s law school.
Following university graduation, Umunna began his legal career at City law firm Herbert Smith in 2005. The next year he moved to Rochman Landau (now Ashfords LLP), focusing on employment law, advising clients on contentious issues as well as transactional and advisory work. Starting in 2006, he contributed commentary on social and economic topics related to the Labour Party, often serving on the Management Committee of the Labour-supporting Compass. His writings appeared in publications such as the Financial Times, Tribune, The Voice, The Guardian, and New Statesman. Additionally, he featured regularly as a commentator on radio and television. Umunna founded and edited The Multicultural Politic, an online political magazine. In 2007, he backed Jon Cruddas's unsuccessful campaign for deputy leader of Labour.
Early parliamentary career
In March 2008, Umunna was selected as the Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for Streatham. He secured election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham in the 2010 general election, winning by a margin of 3,259 votes. He delivered his maiden speech on 2 June 2010, concentrating on economic policy and advocating reforms within the City of London.
Umunna aligned himself with the One Nation Labour tradition and endorsed the Blue Labour movement. He called upon the Conservative-led coalition government to reconsider its approach to fiscal consolidation, implement stricter regulations on the British banking sector, and overhaul credit rating agencies.
He was one of 63 Labour MPs who nominated Ed Miliband during the 2010 Labour leadership contest.
In June 2010, Umunna gained a seat on the Treasury Select Committee. By January 2011, he was questioning Barclays CEO Bob Diamond regarding allegations of tax avoidance, uncovering that Barclays operated through more than 300 offshore subsidiaries. Diamond responded by noting that Barclays paid £113 million in UK corporation tax in 2009 despite generating £11.6 billion in profits. Umunna remained on this committee until his appointment as Shadow Minister for Small Business and Enterprise.
Shadow Cabinet
Following Ed Miliband’s rise to party leadership in October 2010, Umunna was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary. He advanced to Shadow Minister for Small Business and Enterprise in May 2011 before ascending to a Shadow Cabinet role.
On 7 October 2011, he was elevated to Shadow Business Secretary, succeeding John Denham. In this role, he reiterated Labour’s support for replacing university tuition fees with a graduate tax. Alongside Ed Miliband and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rachel Reeves in January 2012, he urged Prime Minister David Cameron to block a £1.6 million bonus awarded to Stephen Hester, CEO of the publicly owned Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
During 2013, Umunna led efforts claiming that the government undervalued the Royal Mail privatisation, a position later supported by a rise in share price and parliamentary scrutiny of bankers.
As a member of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), he joined Liam Byrne on a visit to Israel in October 2012 as part of LFI's UK-Israel Economic Dialogue. Despite his support for LFI, in December 2013 he criticised Israeli military courts for their treatment of Palestinian children accused of combat-related offences.
In April 2013, it emerged that Umunna’s former law firm had been involved in making favourable edits to his Wikipedia page dating back to 2007, including referring to him as the "British Barack Obama." That same month, he issued an apology for previous remarks made on the exclusive social network ASmallWorld where he described West End nightclub attendees as "trash" and "C-list wannabes," acknowledging these comments were inappropriate.
Umunna attracted criticism after accepting a £20,000 donation from a gambling executive despite having campaigned against betting shops within his constituency and pledging new powers to restrict them.
In May 2014, he voiced concerns regarding Pfizer’s proposed acquisition of AstraZeneca, highlighting potential threats to British employment and national interests. Although Pfizer provided assurances, Umunna publicly condemned the bid as unreliable. The takeover ultimately failed following AstraZeneca’s rejection of Pfizer’s final offer.
Also in May 2014, Umunna criticised fellow Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham’s report which recommended limitations on alcohol, unhealthy food, and tobacco sales and advertising, describing such proposals as "anti-business" and overly interventionist.
Throughout his career, Umunna has consistently championed the establishment of a British federal system. He urged progressives not to dismiss George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse initiative. Advocating for increased devolution and federalisation within the UK Labour Party into nation-specific entities, he supports expanded political autonomy—especially for England—and enhanced regional powers as vital components for advancing Labour’s objectives.
Leadership contest and withdrawal
At the 2015 general election, Umunna expanded his lead to 13,934 votes, capturing 53% of the ballots cast in his constituency. In the aftermath of Labour's loss and Ed Miliband's resignation, Umunna emerged as a potential contender for party leadership. He promoted a strategy focused on appealing to Conservative supporters and "aspirational, middle-class voters," stressing the importance of Labour backing those who are "prospering." On 12 May, he declared his intention to run for leader but withdrew three days later, expressing unease with the intense scrutiny that accompanies leadership contests. Subsequently, on 26 May, he endorsed Liz Kendall, who was ultimately unsuccessful in her leadership bid.
Transition back to backbencher status
Following Jeremy Corbyn's appointment as Labour leader in September 2015, Umunna stepped down from the Shadow Cabinet and returned to the backbenches due to disagreements over Brexit policies and issues surrounding collective ministerial responsibility.
Having supported Remain during the Brexit referendum, Umunna represented a constituency where 79.5% voted to stay in the EU. After the Leave outcome prevailed, he tabled an amendment seeking an inquiry into claims about NHS funding linked to EU membership; however, this was rejected. Later, he voted in favour of triggering Article 50 without amendments, arguing that respecting the democratic outcome was essential. During the 2017 general election campaign, he opposed calls for a second referendum on Brexit.
After securing re-election in 2017, Umunna introduced a rebel amendment to the Queen's Speech urging the government to reject a no-deal Brexit and preserve ties with both the Customs Union and Single Market. The amendment did not pass, leading to the dismissal of three Labour frontbenchers who supported it.
In April 2018, Umunna participated in launching the People's Vote campaign, which advocated for a public referendum on the final Brexit agreement. He condemned the Leave campaign for spreading misinformation and breaching spending rules, maintaining that given widespread public concern about Brexit’s consequences, a second referendum was warranted.
In August 2018, The Guardian reported that Umunna and Chris Leslie were reportedly preparing to establish a new political party; both denied these claims. By October 2018, Umunna had taken on the role of chairman at Progressive Centre UK, a centrist think tank, earning £65,000 annually for advisory duties.
Change UK
On 18 February 2019, Umunna joined six other MPs (Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Mike Gapes, Gavin Shuker, and Ann Coffey) in leaving Labour in protest against Jeremy Corbyn's leadership to create The Independent Group (which later became Change UK). On 28 February 2019, Umunna was appointed as Spokesman for this new group.
On 24 May 2019, writing in the i newspaper, Umunna indicated that Change UK was open to forming a pro-EU electoral alliance with the Liberal Democrats to consolidate the Remain vote. After disappointing results in the EU elections on 4 June, Umunna and five other MPs exited Change UK due to opposition to fielding candidates in future polls. Change UK's subsequent leader, Anna Soubry, described Umunna's departure as a "serious mistake."
Liberal Democrats
On 13 June 2019, Umunna declared in an interview with The Times his decision to join the Liberal Democrats. He admitted to the BBC that he had been mistaken in believing that "millions of politically homeless people wanted a new party," reflecting on his departure from Change UK. He recognized that he underestimated the difficulties involved in establishing a new party infrastructure, especially after Change UK garnered only 3.4% of the vote in the European elections, significantly trailing the Liberal Democrats’ 20%. Additionally, he pointed out that Britain's electoral system restricts opportunities for more than one centrist party to succeed in a general election.
Although he had previously criticized the Liberal Democrats for "enabling Tory austerity" during the 2010–2015 coalition, Umunna acknowledged that "things have changed" and hinted that other MPs might consider switching allegiance to the Lib Dems.
During the Liberal Democrat Federal Conference in September 2019, Umunna contended that the UK had lost its moral standing on the global stage while Prime Minister Boris Johnson was threatening to breach legal boundaries over Brexit.
In the 2019 general election, Umunna contested the Cities of London and Westminster seat, finishing as runner-up with 30.7% of the vote, losing to Conservative candidate Nickie Aiken. Helen Thompson succeeded him as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Streatham but was also unsuccessful.
Business career
Since April 2020, Umunna has held a non-executive director position at Advanced and acted as an adviser to Digital Identity Net UK. By July 2020, he took on the role of executive director and head of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) consultancy within Edelman UK's specialized capital markets and financial services division. He stressed the importance of businesses embedding ESG principles into their corporate strategies to reshape capitalism.
On 12 April 2021, Umunna joined JPMorgan Chase as Managing Director, where he leads ESG advisory services throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, while also co-heading the bank’s global ESG investment banking team. In 2022, he provided counsel to Vesa Equity, Daniel Kretinsky’s investment firm, regarding British holdings including a 23% share in Royal Mail. Despite his earlier critiques of excessive banking remuneration, Umunna encountered media attention concerning his own substantial earnings within the sector.
Personal life
In 2015, Umunna announced his engagement to employment solicitor Alice Sullivan in The Times. The couple married in 2016 and have three daughters born in 2017, 2020, and late 2024.
A devoted supporter of Crystal Palace F.C., Umunna credits Christianity with shaping his political outlook and ethical beliefs, although he describes himself as "not majorly religious."
Before stepping away from politics, he was recognized among the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2015.