Afternoon summary
- Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, has withdrawn from the Labour leadership contest, citing the impact the increased level of attention would have on him and those close to him. In a statement, Umunna said he thought he understood the level of scrutiny and attention the leadership contest would bring, but that he had found it uncomfortable. A source close to Umunna claimed his mother had been followed home by a reporter and that he had not enjoyed having press outside his home every morning. He also denied speculation that a newspaper had a negative story about him that was about to be run over the weekend.
The Labour leadership election and the Labour campaign to stay in the EU Read: http://t.co/Y2DtOg0A20
— Chuka Umunna (@ChukaUmunna) May 15, 2015
-
David Cameron has offered to strengthen a new bill to give Scotland greater tax and welfare powers after Nicola Sturgeon complained that the draft legislation failed to meet key pledges from the Smith commission. The first minister said their meeting in Edinburgh on Friday, the first between the two leaders since the general election, had been “constructive and businesslike” after the prime minister confirmed he would consider additional proposals to beef up Holyrood’s tax and welfare powers.
-
Nigel Farage has challenged an anonymous senior Ukip figure, who has been quoted as wanting to oust him as leader, to quit the party if he cannot be more supportive. The Ukip leader said there was only one man within Ukip who wanted a new contest, and that he should make a decision about his future in the party. “There is one person within Ukip agitating for a change and for a leadership election – he hasn’t had the courage to break cover but he must make his mind up: is his future with Ukip or not?” Farage told Sky News. Meanwhile, questions have been raised over whether Farage actually submitted a resignation.
Exclusive: Sources in Ukip now alleging Farage never officially resigned in ‘stitch-up’ to avoid a leadership contest http://t.co/ilXPuk5D9T
— Isabel Hardman (@IsabelHardman) May 15, 2015
-
Former Ukip MEP Ashley Mote has been found guilty of fraudulently claiming almost £500,000 in European Parliament expenses.
Mote, 79, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of 12 fraud-related offences and of using the gains to fund his court battles in the UK (see 15.50). - Tristram Hunt continues to tease over his plans to run for Labour leadership, resisting the opportunity to launch a bid in the wake of potential rival Chuka Umunna’s withdrawal from the race. Hunt said he was “continuing to listen to colleagues” as he weighed up whether to compete in the contest. The remarks echo his comments on last night’s Question Time, when he admitted he was “interested” in the leadership (see 15.28).
- The Communication Workers Union added to calls for Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy to step down. The union joins Unite, Unison, and train drivers union Aslef in leaning on Murphy to go (see 15.19).
That’s it from me today. It’s been a pleasure. Thank you for all your comments. I hope you can now all enjoy the weekend safe in the knowledge Johnny Depp’s dogs were saved from being put down in Australia.
Updated
Let’s leave Ukip for now and return to Chuka Umunna and his dramatic decision to ditch his Labour leadership bid.
Yvette Cooper, who would have been one of Umunna’s competitors for the role had he remained in the race, has praised her colleague.
Real shame @ChukaUmunna has had to take this decision & has had pressure put on friends/family. Great guy w strong future role in @UKLabour
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) May 15, 2015
The Clacton Gazette has managed to get through to Douglas Carswell to ask him whether he is the man singled out by Nigel Farage as an agitator who does not have the “courage to break cover”.
But Carswell, Ukip’s only MP, refused to be drawn. When asked if he was the “senior figure” privately calling for a leadership contest, Carswell told his constituency’s local paper that was a question “to ask him”.
Staying with Ukip for a moment, the plot doesn’t just thicken... it becomes positively clotted. A report in the Spectator claims Ukip leader Nigel Farage never wrote a letter to the party’s chairman tendering his resignation.
Ukip sources have told the magazine that Farage didn’t submit a formal resignation to avoid a leadership contest, despite telling the media he would write to the party resigning.
Party rules dictate that a leadership contest must be called if a written resignation is received - regardless of whether the party accepts or rejects the decision.
Just what is going on?
Exclusive: Sources in Ukip now alleging Farage never officially resigned in ‘stitch-up’ to avoid a leadership contest http://t.co/ilXPuk5D9T
— Isabel Hardman (@IsabelHardman) May 15, 2015
Updated
Nigel Farage has challenged an anonymous senior Ukip figure, who has been quoted as wanting to oust him as leader, to quit the party if he cannot be more supportive.
The remarks prompted speculation that he is talking about Douglas Carswell, Ukip’s only MP, who has disagreed with Farage over issues such as preventing foreigners with HIV from migrating to the UK and whether to accept £3.25m in public funding for the party’s parliamentary office.
Ex-Ukip MEP guilty of expenses fraud
This seems like an apt time to return to Ukip’s mounting woes - former Ukip MEP Ashley Mote has been found guilty of fraudulently claiming almost £500,000 in European Parliament expenses.
Mote, 79, was convicted at Southwark Crown Court of 12 fraud-related offences and of using the gains to fund his court battles in the UK.
Mote, of Binsted, Hampshire, was found guilty of four counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception, three of false accounting, two of fraud, and one each of acquiring criminal property, concealing criminal property and theft. The offences took place between November 2004 and July 2010.
The jury took just an hour and 42 minutes to return the verdict, which comes as Ukip is swamped by infighting over Nigel Farage’s leadership and party funding.
Updated
Guardian columnist Owen Jones has given his fierce take on reports that Chuka Umunna stepped down from the Labour leadership race due to overbearing media scrutiny. He writes:
Chuka should have expected it and learned to take it, some will say. It’s all part of the territory. If you don’t want that level of intense scrutiny, choose a different path in life. You saw what they did to Ed Miliband, did you not? What a bleak approach, that the price of political service should be having your life and the lives of those who love you torn to shreds. A mean, cruel, macho, debased political “debate”, stripped of humanity or understanding.
Tristram Hunt undecided over leadership bid
Tristram Hunt continues to tease over his plans to run for Labour leadership, resisting the opportunity to launch a bid in the wake of potential rival Chuka Umunna’s withdrawal from the race.
Hunt said he was “continuing to listen to colleagues” as he weighed up whether to compete in the contest. The remarks echo his comments on last night’s Question Time, when he admitted he was “interested” in the leadership.
He will tomorrow join the four declared candidates at a high-profile debate at the annual conference of the Blairite think-tank Progress.
Addressing his local party in Stoke-on-Trent this evening, he will say:
As today marks the official beginning of the contest, I am continuing to listen to colleagues in the Parliamentary Labour Party on their views on how we rebuild the Labour Party to get us back into government.
I will tomorrow join leadership contenders at Progress’s Annual Conference to set out my analysis on how we begin to understand what went so wrong and why.
Communication Workers Union calls for Jim Murphy to resign
Just as we were looking at Scottish Labour, another union has added to the growing number of voices calling on Jim Murphy to resign.
Unite, Unison, Aslef and now the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are all leaning on Murphy to go.
A CWU spokesman said:
CWU is calling for the resignation of Jim Murphy as Scottish Labour leader following the Party’s performance in the general election, which was particularly disastrous in Scotland.
It is clear that the Labour Party needs to rebuild in Scotland and CWU believes that will be done most effectively under new leadership.”
CWU is affiliated to the Labour Party and represents workers in post, telecoms, mobile, and financial services companies including BT, Capita, EE, O2, Parcelforce, the Post Office, Royal Mail, Santander and UK Mail.
CWU calls for resignation of Scottish Labour Leader Jim Murphy following Party's performance in general election http://t.co/YU9E53xSZU
— CWUnews (@CWUnews) May 15, 2015
Today’s focus in Scotland has been firmly placed on discussions between the Tories and the SNP. But the crisis facing Scottish Labour is still rumbling on as pressure mounts on the party’s leader Jim Murphy to step down.
Labour MSP Neil Findlay, who resigned from Labour’s Scottish shadow cabinet over the weekend, citing the party’s “disaster” in the general election in Scotland, has written a lengthy, reflective analysis of what went wrong.
He, surprisingly, fixes some of the blame on the establishment of the Better Together campaign, which aligned Labour with the Tories - a party Labour had spent “the previous 30 years successfully demonising as the enemy of the Scottish people”.
Saying we were Better Together meant bugger all to someone who was unemployed or in a low paid, zero hours contract. It meant nothing to communities hurting from the impact of austerity imposed upon them by the very Tories Labour campaigned alongside, and it meant nothing to young people who wanted a message of hope for the future.
Findlay said Labour’s manifesto was actually more to the left than the SNP and, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the nationalists’ budget proposals would mean longer austerity.
But none of this mattered – people had switched off and refused to listen to anything Labour said. We could have offered a free million pound note to everyone who voted Labour and still this would have been rejected. This is not the fault of the electorate, we can’t blame the SNP – it’s our fault, Labour’s fault. The people lacked faith in our sincerity.
He finishes by calling for Labour to consider creating an “autonomous or federal structure” within the Labour party giving the Scottish party the ability to develop its own policies and select candidates along with a long list of other proposals.
Returning to Scotland, David Cameron has defended his decision to make a former adviser to Margaret Thatcher a lord so he can become a junior minister in the Scotland Office.
Speaking as he visited Nicola Sturgeon for devolution talks in Edinburgh, the prime minister said he believed Dunlop had been involved in defence procurement when he worked for Thatcher. He said:
What I’ve done is I’ve taken someone who is extremely talented, with a great record in public service, who will make an excellent minister in the Scottish Office.
I read some of this morning’s press with incredulity because my memory is he was responsible for defence procurement under the Margaret Thatcher government, but why let the facts get in the way of a great story?
The inquest into Chuka Umunna’s shock withdrawal from the Labour party leadership contest continues.
George Eaton, political editor of the New Statesman, writes that some in Labour suggest that the support of grandees such as Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson led him to feel he had an obligation to stand.
Eaton has spoken to Umunna’s aides, who insisted he not a “Heseltine-style figure” who resolved to become prime minister by a particular age but added “we’re not saying never ever”.
Ben Bradshaw, the former culture secretary, gives his reaction to Chuka Umunna’s decision withdrawing from the Labour leadership race in this Guardian video.
Paul Waugh, editor at Politics Home, has been looking at why Chuka Umunna withdrew from the Labour leadership race in this thorough analysis of his decision.
Waugh says he understands there’s no “big scandal looming in the weekend press” after speaking to a close source and it is the “intensity” of the media interest that has dissuaded Umunna from running. He writes:
As a Shadow minister, Umunna was still used to a relatively relaxed private life. Constituents were surprised that he didn’t have a bodyguard or driver and just went about his business on the bus and tube. All that would change if he became leader.
Umunna’s girlfriend Alice Sullivan accompanied him to the Marr Show last week, leading to a surge of media interest, Waugh writes.
It’s also true that his girlfriend’s elderly grandmother was contacted by the media, though Umunna is not trying to turn his decision into a war with the press or a salutory tale of media ‘intrusion’.
Umunna is definitely not running for London Mayor, Waugh adds, and plans to back one of the other contenders.
Labour leader hopeful Creagh pays tribute to Umunna "courage"
Returning to the shock decision by Chuka Umunna to withdrawal from the Labour leadership race, my colleague Matthew Weaver reports that shadow international development secretary and leadership contender Mary Creagh has paid tribute to the “courage” of the shadow business secretary. He writes:
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme she said: “I can only conclude that he has come to this decision after a lot of soul searching. It takes courage to stand for the leadership. It also takes a great deal of courage to withdraw from the leadership. He’s a big beast, he’s got a huge role to play both in the Labour party and in a future Labour government.”
She added: “Modern politicians with social media, Facebook and emails face pressures even 15 or 20 years ago they did not face ... We are expected to be some how superhuman.”
Creagh, one of four declared contenders for the leadership, said: “One of the lessons of the last general election is that Westminster politicians tend to look and sound the same. I think it is really important for the Labour party that we chose a new leader who can reach out to large swaths of the country that think Labour no longer stands for them.”
Like several candidates and senior figures in the party Creagh blamed Labour’s defeat on a failure to attract “aspirational” voters.
“I think we lost the election because people did not trust us on the economy. People felt that Labour didn’t understand their aspiration to earn money and provide a better life for their family,” she said.
She added: “I don’t think it was about [being] left wing. It was about our rhetoric and the package that we used.”
Creagh was asked repeatedly whether Labour spent too much money in government. She refused to give a direct answer but said: “We have apologised for our failure to adequately regulate the banking sector. But it also clear that when the banking crisis hit, Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown, took the steps to avoid a banking crash and a global recession. Should we have run a small structural deficit prior to that? With hindsight probably not, but I don’t think the global financial crisis happened because we employed more teachers, nurses and doctors.”
Scotland will have massive tax and spending powers - Cameron
The prime minister has said Scotland will be free to “raise more taxes and spend more money” when new Scotland bill is passed.
Following talks with SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, David Cameron said he was committed to implementing the Smith Commission proposals for Scottish devolution in full.
Speaking on Sky News, Cameron also dismissed reports that a second Scottish independence referendum is likely or being planned and denied he had “stoked nationalism” in the election campaign.
It (the bill) gives massive tax and spending powers to the Scottish parliament, so if Scotland wants to take a different path and for instance raise more taxes and spend more money it will be able to.
Asked about the prospect of a second referendum, the prime minister said:
On the referendum question, it was very decisive, the Scottish people decided to stay in the United Kingdom. Alex Salmond said at the time it was a once in a generation - possibly once in a lifetime opportunity - I agree with that, so I don’t think as Nicola Sturgeon herself has said, this is not on the cards.
Cameron denied he had stoked nationalism during the campaign. He said:
I certainly didn’t do that. I’ve always stood for the United Kingdom, for bringing our countries together. I simply pointed out the danger of having an alliance between one party the SNP who want to break up our country and another party Labour that I believe would bankrupt our party (sic) and that was a powerful and important message.
A constructive meeting with @David_Cameron this morning. Discussed austerity, more powers and range of other issues.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) May 15, 2015
David Cameron and Nicola Sturgeon talks: a storyboard
Cameron - surrounded by heavies - arrived at Bute House in Edinburgh around 10am after insisting he was committed to devolving powers to Scotland...
He was greeted on the steps by Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon with a customary handshake. She has warned it will no longer be “business as usual” with Westminster’s dealings with Scotland.
The SNP leader leans in as Cameron whispers something in her ear, perhaps “thanks for wiping out Scottish Labour” or something less loaded...
In they go, the pleasantries are over, the talks commence...
The leaders share a laugh before getting down to the nitty gritty...
Cameron tells Sturgeon he will implement the proposals in the Smith Commission in full...
But Sturgeon wants more - she asks Cameron to consider devolving powers “over and above” the Smith Commission.
Cameron leaves alone, intact and looking relatively pleased. He agrees to at least consider some of the further powers demanded by the first minister.
Both leaders describe the meeting as “constructive”.
Updated
For those of you who are new to the devolution talks in Scotland, I thought it would be useful to flag this Guardian guide to the key points in the Smith Commission, which was the body charged with formulating devolution commitments for Scotland.
Nicola Sturgeon told Sky News there was no “high-fiving” with the prime minister over the demise of Scottish Labour.
I can exclusively for Sky News reveal there was no high-fiving.
Updated
Here’s a few tweets from journalists covering the devolution talks between Nicola Sturgeon and David Cameron in Edinburgh.
Guardian’s Scotland correspondent Severin Carrell
On @theSNP source predicting #indyref2, @David_Cameron says prefers @AlexSalmond on the record 'once in lifetime' to his off the rec boasts
— Severin Carrell (@severincarrell) May 15, 2015
BBC’s James Cook
Scottish government says David Cameron said he was open to considering proposals which would go further than the Smith Commission.
— James Cook (@BBCJamesCook) May 15, 2015
Strategy director at Scottish Conservatives Eddie Barnes
David Cameron spells out his vision for UK: strongest possible Scottish Parliament as part of a strong solidarity union
— Eddie Barnes (@EddieBarnes23) May 15, 2015
BBC’s Nick Eardley
Nicola Sturgeon says she hopes UK and Scottish governments can agree powers beyond those in the Smith Commission
— Nick Eardley (@nickeardley) May 15, 2015
Updated
David Cameron has confirmed he will consider beefing up the new bill to give Scotland greater tax and welfare powers after Nicola Sturgeon complained the draft legislation failed to meet pledges made on extra welfare powers in the Smith commission.
Speaking after his first post-election meeting with the first minister in Edinburgh on Friday morning the prime minister said he would “look again” at the welfare powers after putting the Smith commission bill in his first Queen’s speech later this month.
Scottish parties are annoyed the draft bill fails to implement the Smith agreement proposal for Holyrood to introduce its own benefits or top up existing benefits.
On Thursday, Holyrood’s devolution bill committee said the UK’s draft legislation failed to live up to the “the spirit or substance” of Smith.
Cameron added that he could add extra powers going beyond Smith, which allows Scotland nearly full control over income tax, air passenger duty and housing benefit.
“I don’t rule out making sensible changes if sensible changes can be made,” he said, and promised to hold regular meetings with Sturgeon.
Asked about claims by a senior SNP source, disclosed by the Guardian, that the Scottish government could defy Cameron’s refusal to allow a second independence referendum, by staging an unofficial vote without legal approval, Cameron suggested that source was Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader.
“I tend to take at face value what Alex Salmond says on the record rather than off the record. On the record he said it was a once in a generation, potentially once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’m sticking with that,” the prime minister said.
Sturgeon: Cameron must prove Westminster listens to Scotland
Nicola Sturgeon says the prime minister has agreed to consider proposals for Scottish devolution “over and above” the Smith Commission recommendations.
Speaking after talks with David Cameron at her residence in Bute House, Edinburgh, the SNP leader and first minister of Scotland said the meeting was “constructive” and “business like”.
In an interview with Sky News, she said Cameron had committed to implementing the proposals of the Smith Commission in full and agreed to consider further devolution of powers on matters including business taxes and welfare. She told the broadcaster:
Two things of significance were agreed in the meeting. First, there was a commitment from the prime minister that the legislation they will shortly introduce to the Westminster parliament to implement the proposals of the Smith Commission will implement those proposals in full. We had a report from the Scottish Parliament Committee that said where we are thus far doesn’t fulfil the Smith commission proposals so there’s a commitment to do that and we’ll work with them to make sure that happens.
Secondly, we will put forward proposals for devolution further than the Commission proposals. Prime minister says they will consider those proposals, I’m not going to put words into his mouth and say he’s agreed any specific proposals.
Asked what those further proposals involved, Sturgeon said:
I want to take Scotland to full fiscal autonomy, David Cameron doesn’t. What we said in our manifesto was there were priority powers over and above the Smith Commission we wanted to see devolved so what we’re talking about are business taxes, employment legislation, the minimum wage and more powers over welfare.
An important meeting with @NicolaSturgeon on delivering our commitment to more powers for Scotland. pic.twitter.com/x3CR2d7lQN
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) May 15, 2015
Cameron: UK government will rethink devolution bill
The prime minister and first minister of Scotland have concluded devolution talks in Edinburgh. My colleague Severin Carrell reports that David Cameron will “rethink” devolution bill proposals to boost welfare plans after his discussions with Nicola Sturgeon.
.@David_Cameron confirms UK govt will rethink #Smith devolution bill to beef up welfare plans; offers talks on extras with @NicolaSturgeon
— Severin Carrell (@severincarrell) May 15, 2015
My colleague Matthew Weaver has this story on Labour activists already calling for Keir Starmer to run for leader in the wake of Chuka Umunna’s decision to step down.
He writes:
An online campaign has been launched to try to persuade the former director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer to stand for the leadership of the Labour party, only a week after he became an MP.
Starmer, who was elected to the former health secretary Frank Dobson’s old seat of Holborn and St Pancras, on an increased Labour majority, had been tipped as a potential leader of the party.
Disappointment at the current leadership contenders has prompted a group of Labour activists to urge Starmer to stand. On Thursday night, they set up a Facebook page called Sir Keir Starmer QC KCB for Labour leader, which has already attracted more than 199 members.
Chuka Umunna withdraws leadership bid - analysis
Chuka Umunna was the bookies’ early favourite and his decision to step back from the Labour leadership bid has shocked Westminster.
Why the hell has Chuka withdrawn from the Labour leadership race?!
— David Singleton (@singersz) May 15, 2015
The shadow business secretary said he had been planning to launch his bid in the event of a Labour defeat - but since 7 May has 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.
Umunna also suggests that he may have been rushed into launching his bid as he admits it was “all too soon” for him.
I know this will come as I surprise to many but I had always wondered whether it was all too soon for me to launch this leadership bid - I fear it was.
Some have questioned whether Labour peer Peter Mandelson, who publicly backed Umunna as a future leader, may have been one of those exerting pressure on the relatively young politician to step up.
The key phrase in Chuka statement: "I had always wondered whether it was all too soon for me"; ie, others wanted to thrust greatness on him.
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) May 15, 2015
But then Umunna expands on the impact increased scrutiny has already had on his life.
Most importantly, I continued to have very real concerns and worry about this bid’s impact on those close to me.
This triggered a tidal Twitter wave of speculation over whether the papers had approached the potential leader with a negative story about his private life.
Chuka doesn't like the pressure and scrutiny. Hmm. I wonder what'll be in the Sunday papers?
— fleetstreetfox (@fleetstreetfox) May 15, 2015
However, there are mixed reports over possible press coverage. Sources have told the Press Association there were no stories on the horizon that triggered his departure. Other reporters have suggested a Sunday paper had something in store.
But there are also suggestions that Umunna’s family and the family of his girlfriend were doorstepped by reporters.
Umunna was upset the press doorstepped not just his mother, but his girlfriend's parents and even her 102-year old grandmother
— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) May 15, 2015
What next for Umunna? Well some have suggested he may run for London mayor - although this would seem like a strange choice given the strong Labour contenders - Tessa Jowell and Sadiq Khan who have put themselves forward.
In his statement, he says he hopes to remain as a member of the shadow cabinet, adding
I also hope to play a leading role in Labour’s campaign to keep the UK in the EU.
Liz Kendall, Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham and Mary Creagh remain in the race. Tristram Hunt is expected to step up in the next few days and Umunna’s withdrawal from the race has already triggered calls from Labour activists for first-time MP and former chief prosecutor Keir Starmer to throw his hat in the ring. But for many within the party this will be a great disappointment.
Others are speculating Chuka Umunna might follow his shock decision to withdraw from the Labour leadership contest to put himself forward as a London mayor candidate.
Here’s deputy web editor at the New Statesman Anoosh Chakelian
Chuka for London mayor? He's pulled out of the leadership contest. Heard whispers that he is interested in the mayoralty...
— Anoosh Chakelian (@AnooshChakelian) May 15, 2015
Executive editor of Conservative Home Mark Wallace
Plus if Chuka does run for the mayoralty against Sadiq it will provide the press with endless Chuka/Khan headlines.
— Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) May 15, 2015
RSA’s Anthony Painter
Why would standing for Mayor of London attract any less scrutiny than running for Labour leader? Chuka won't be running for London mayor.
— Anthony Painter (@anthonypainter) May 15, 2015
And politcal blogger Harry Cole
How could it play out? Realises he's out of leadership race. Bails on wave of lamentation. Gives some sympathetic interviews. Chuka4Mayor.
— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) May 15, 2015
Umunna’s departure has been met with glee by the Conservatives, according to journalists within the rightwing press.
Telegraph’s Steven Swinford:
The resignation of Chuka Umunna from leadership race paves way for Burnham and Cooper, #Labour old guard. Tories very pleased
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) May 15, 2015
The Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn:
Jarvis, now Chuka. Fist pumping in No10. Just like with Ed, Tories can't believe their luck again #Labourleadership
— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) May 15, 2015
Telegraph’s Tim Ross:
For a couple of years, @ChukaUmunna has been the "next Labour leader" that senior Tories feared most. Another win for CCHQ...
— Tim Ross (@TimRossDT) May 15, 2015
Updated
There are now mixed reports about whether Chuka Umunna has withdrawn from the Labour leadership contest because of a possible negative news story on the horizon.
John Simpson at the Times:
Labour source (yes I have one) says Chuka Umunna withdrew from leadership bid because of an article in a Sunday paper, & it's "bad".
— John Simpson (@thejohnsimpson) May 15, 2015
Buzzfeed’s Jim Waterson:
Don't believe the Sunday Times / Sun on Sunday had anything ready to go on Chuka. His team briefing the decision isn't due to a story.
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) May 15, 2015
Updated
Here is the full text of the statement by Chuka Umunna on withdrawing from the Labour leadership election:
Shortly before the election campaign, I made the decision, in the event that Labour was defeated and a new Leader was to be elected, to stand for the leadership of the party if there was a desire in the party for me to do so.
I dearly hoped Labour would win the election and it was a decision I would not have to implement.
I also thought I understood the scrutiny and attention a leadership contest would bring.
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.
I apologise to all those who have kindly supported and encouraged me to do this and for disappointing them. I know this will come as I surprise to many but I had always wondered whether it was all too soon for me to launch this leadership bid - I fear it was.
Most importantly, I continued to have very real concerns and worry about this bid’s impact on those close to me.
I intend to carry on playing my full role as a proud member of our Shadow Cabinet taking on the Tories. I also hope to play a leading role in Labour’s campaign to keep the UK in the EU during the forthcoming referendum which is absolutely crucial. Most importantly, I will as ever continue to serve the area I know and love - the Streatham parliamentary constituency.
To refresh your memories – not that you’d need too much refreshing, it only happened three days ago – here is Umunna’s leadership bid launch video, shot in Swindon on Tuesday.
Updated
Within minutes of Umunna announcing he has withdrawn from the Labour leadership contest, the commentariat started to speculate about whether it was because he was aware of some negative press heading his way, possibly this weekend.
But, according to the Press Association, sources close to the shadow business secretary have insisted his withdrawal was not due to any negative story he expects to appear in the media.
Here’s Buzzfeed’s Jim Waterson:
Which Sunday paper had been sniffing around Chuka, then?
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) May 15, 2015
Susie Boniface, also known as Fleet Street fox:
Chuka doesn't like the pressure and scrutiny. Hmm. I wonder what'll be in the Sunday papers?
— fleetstreetfox (@fleetstreetfox) May 15, 2015
Press Association news editor Richard Woodward:
Sources close to Chuka Umunna say his withdrawal was not due to any negative story expected to appear in the media https://t.co/mJrLUIoy2g
— Richard Woodward (@WoodwardRJ) May 15, 2015
Guardian columnist Owen Jones:
I don't have Chuka's politics (at all) But really hope he hasn't been forced to withdraw for anything we shouldn't give a toss about in 2015
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) May 15, 2015
Updated
Umunna’s decision to withdraw from the Labour leadership contest – just three days after he launched his bid – has been met with shock and confusion.
The shadow business secretary was seen as as strong contender for the role and now leaves Liz Kendall, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Mary Creagh as the remaining MPs who have put themselves forward.
Here’s a sample of reaction on Twitter:
Guardian political reporter Frances Perraudin:
Oh wow. Chuka Umunna has withdrawn from the Labour leadership race. What is going on?
— Frances Perraudin (@fperraudin) May 15, 2015
Total Politics editor David Singleton:
Why the hell has Chuka withdrawn from the Labour leadership race?!
— David Singleton (@singersz) May 15, 2015
Telegraph deputy political editor Steven Swinford:
Until yesterday Chuka Umunna was the bookies favourite to win the #Labour election. Now he's stepped down. Why?
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) May 15, 2015
Telegraph senior political correspondent Tim Ross:
Big blow for Blairites as @ChukaUmunna quits Labour leader race, citing "very real concerns" about the bid's "impact on those close to me".
— Tim Ross (@TimRossDT) May 15, 2015
Updated
Chuka Umunna says he is not "comfortable" with leadership pressure
Umunna has said the “added level of pressure” around a Labour party leadership bid was too much.
One of the favourites for the Labour leadership, the 36-year-old shocked Westminster with his decision to step back from the contest just three days after he launched his bid.
Here is the key passage from the statement announcing his decision:
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.
I apologise to all those who have kindly supported and encouraged me to do this and for disappointing them. I know this will come as I surprise to many but I had always wondered whether it was all too soon for me to launch this leadership bid - I fear it was.
Updated
Chuka Umunna withdraws Labour leadership bid
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has withdrawn from the Labour party leadership contest, according to the Press Association.
#Breaking Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has withdrawn from the Labour party leadership contest pic.twitter.com/KgGm3NGZZ4
— Press Association (@pressassoc) May 15, 2015
Updated
The Twitter commentariat seem more and more sure that the “senior figure” privately calling for a Ukip leadership contest and challenged by Nigel Farage to “make his mind up” over whether he will support the party is its only MP Douglas Carswell.
Here’s Daily Express’s political correspondent Martyn Brown:
Judgement day for @DouglasCarswell ? Nigel Farage effectively calls out the MP to decide whether he wants to be in Ukip any more #CoupKIP
— Martyn Brown (@MartynExpress) May 15, 2015
Telegraph’s deputy political editor Steven Swinford:
#Ukip story is getting more extraordinary. @Nigel_Farage appears to publicly tell @DouglasCarswell to back him or quit the party
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) May 15, 2015
Sun political correspondent Craig Woodhouse:
Nigel Farage seems to be doing everything in his power to force out UKIP's only MP. And therefore make his general election result worse.
— Craig Woodhouse (@craigawoodhouse) May 15, 2015
Updated
Ukip’s crisis continues to unfold. Former BBC producer Paul Lambert, otherwise known as Gobby, is reportedly on leave from his role as Ukip’s director of communications, less than six months after he was hired.
Lambert earned his nickname as the BBC’s off-camera voice outside No 10 shouting questions across the road to ministers - often asking: “Will you resign?”
'Gobby' Paul Lambert now on leave from @UKIP. I believe no decision been made about his contract. He wants to stay #AreyougoingtoresignGobby
— Darren McCaffrey (@DMcCaffreySKY) May 15, 2015
Remaining with Scotland, my colleagues Severin Carrell and Frances Perraudin say John Swinney, Scotland’s deputy first minister, has denied the SNP could stage a second independence referendum following reports in the Guardian.
They write:
In an apparent rebuke to the senior Scottish National party source who claimed the party could defy David Cameron and stage an unofficial referendum, Swinney said his government had no plans to do so.
After the prime minister insisted he has no intention of authorising a second vote on independence, The Guardian source has claimed an SNP government could stage an “indicative referendum” without the legal approval currently required from Westminster.
But Swinney insisted the SNP had no mandate for such a move. “There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, that I can claim from the general election last Thursday that gives us any right to hold a second referendum on the independence question,” Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland.
Perhaps that will ease the tensions behind the doors of Bute House.
Here’s some images posted on Twitter of Nicola Sturgeon greeting David Cameron on the steps of Bute House in Edinburgh:
Bute House Edinburgh. As @David_Cameron meets @NicolaSturgeon for first time since election pic.twitter.com/awc3CKocfD
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) May 15, 2015
Handshakes between @NicolaSturgeon and @David_Cameron at Bute House thus morning pic.twitter.com/IWamZ7Ojmq
— Peter MacMahon (@petermacmahon) May 15, 2015
All smiles as First Minister @NicolaSturgeon meets prime minister David Cameron in Edinburgh. pic.twitter.com/pz1rBuHDVa
— James Cook (@BBCJamesCook) May 15, 2015
David Cameron and Nicola Sturgeon meeting to discuss new powers for Scotland http://t.co/d7OxSTUopj pic.twitter.com/An7mbNdJTC
— Nick Eardley (@nickeardley) May 15, 2015
Here is the complete text of the letter from first-time Labour MPs setting out their hopes for the Labour leadership (see 9.51)
Having arrived in Westminster as newly-elected Labour MPs after speaking to tens of thousands of voters during our election campaigns, we know how important it is for the future of our Party to move forward with an agenda that best serves the everyday needs of people, families and communities and that is prepared to challenge the notion of austerity and invest in public services.
Labour must now reach out to the five million voters lost since 1997, and those who moved away from Labour in Scotland and elsewhere on 7 May, renewing their hope that politics does matter and Labour is on their side.
As we seek a new leader of the Labour Party, we are needing one who looks forward and will challenge an agenda of cuts, take on the powerful vested interests of big business and will set out an alternative to austerity – not one who will draw back to the ‘New Labour’ creed of the past.
Now is the time Labour needs a leader who’s in tune with the collective aspiration of ordinary people and communities across Britain, meeting the need for secure employment paying decent wages, homes that people can call their own, strong public services back in public hands again and the guarantee of a real apprenticeship or university course with a job at the end of it. From restoring Sure Start to providing dignity and a good standard of living in retirement, these are the aspirations key to real Labour values today and will re-engage people across our country in the years to come.
We look forward to engaging in the debate surrounding the Labour leadership in the weeks ahead to secure our Party as being best able to meet the challenges faced by ordinary people at this time.
Signed:
- Richard Burgon (Leeds East)
- Louise Haigh (Sheffield Heeley)
- Harry Harpham (Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
- Imran Hussain (Bradford East)
- Clive Lewis (Norwich South)
- Rebecca Long Bailey (Salford and Eccles)
- Rachael Maskell (York Central)
- Kate Osamor (Edmonton)
- Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood)
- Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central)
PM arrives at Bute House for talks with Nicola Sturgeon
David Cameron has arrived at Bute House, in Edinburgh, the official residence of Scotland’s first minister, for devolution talks.
The prime minister was welcomed by SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon on the steps of the 18th century building, where the pair briefly posed for cameras.
Talks are expected to last for around an hour, when we hope to hear more about what was discussed. In the meantime, read Rowena Mason’s article on what might be on the agenda here.
Sticking with the Labour leadership election, John Harris has turned his thoughts to the mammoth task faced by its contenders - a challenge they seem unaware of. He writes:
To state the blindingly obvious, Labour is a party of the industrial age, which has been storing up this crisis for a decade, at least. Largely devoid of the battalions of organised labour that once provided its organisational and electoral muscle, it has become a shadow party run by an ever tinier clique of politicians drawn from ever narrower backgrounds.
First-time Labour MPs call for move away from New Labour past
I just want to break away from the Ukip row for a moment to look at the forthcoming Labour leadership election.
A group of first-time Labour MPs have written an open letter calling for the next party chief to ditch the “New Labour creed of the past”.
It’s an interesting development as there appears to be a clear divide between those Labour MPs that want to embrace the Blair years and those who want to proffer a new vision.
Liz Kendall, Chuka Umunna, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Mary Creagh have all put themselves forward for the leadership, while Tristram Hunt is expected to launch a bid soon.
The letter, signed by 10 MPs elected for the first time last week, says:
As we seek a new leader of the Labour Party, we are needing one who looks forward and will challenge an agenda of cuts, take on the powerful vested interests of big business and will set out an alternative to austerity – not one who will draw back to the ‘New Labour’ creed of the past.
It is signed by:
- Richard Burgon (Leeds East)
- Louise Haigh (Sheffield Heeley)
- Harry Harpham (Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
- Imran Hussain (Bradford East)
- Clive Lewis (Norwich South)
- Rebecca Long Bailey (Salford and Eccles)
- Rachael Maskell (York Central)
- Kate Osamor (Edmonton)
- Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood)
- Jo Stevens (Cardiff Central)
Who exactly was Farage referring to in his Sky News interview when he singled out a “senior figure” in Ukip calling for change who hasn’t “had the courage to break cover”?
Paul Waugh, editor of Politics Home, asks if it might be the party’s sole MP Douglas Carswell:
Farage on Sky:"there's 1 person in Ukip agitating for change + he hasn't had the courage to come out in public" Dig at @DouglasCarswell?
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) May 15, 2015
How UKIP civil wars work: Farage launches veiled attack on those he thinks have been making veiled attacks on himself #danceofthe7veils
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) May 15, 2015
Farage: Conservative lobby attempting to destabilise Ukip
Nigel Farage has put the current Ukip crisis down to an attempt by the “Conservative lobby” to destabilise his party.
Appearing on Sky News in Westerham, Kent, he said there was one “senior figure” calling for change who must now “make his mind up whether his future is with Ukip or not”.
There is one senior figure in Ukip briefing everyday consistently. He’s now moved on to there must be a leadership election. That individual must make his mind up whether his future is with Ukip or not.
Farage said levels of support for his position are “frankly astonishing”.
It’s a Conservative attempt, from the Conservative lobby to try and destabilise Ukip and to use one or two people within who are disaffected.
It’s very difficult to get more support than I’ve got and even Patrick O’Flynn, who made some personal comments, which weren’t particularly pleasant said he 100% supports me as leader.
There is one person within Ukip agitating for a change and for a leadership election. He hasn’t had the courage to break cover but he must make his mind up - is his future with Ukip or not.
Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe, the man once described by Nigel Farage as “half-black”, has been doing the media rounds this morning in a bid to douse the flames of the Ukip crisis.
Appearing on the Today show and BBC Breakfast, Woolfe backed fellow MEP Patrick O’Flynn for speaking out but said the party should now focus on its core message about withdrawal from the European Union.
Woolfe said O’Flynn’s judgement that Farage was a “thin-skinned, snarling, aggressive” politician was in reference to the Ukip leader’s comments during the election campaign that HIV-positive immigrants should not receive NHS treatment.
He told the Today programme:
We are not a right-wing party. What was absolutely correct about Patrick’s analysis of this, and don’t forget that he was the person that was in there for five or six o’clock in the morning, running this campaign in the central office, seeing what’s happening across there, is that sometimes the tone in our party had started to slip to something much more negative and that’s not what the public of this country wanted.
It’s certainly not what the party members wanted, it’s not what people standing on the doorsteps and knocking on the doorsteps like myself actually wanted to see.
We are a very positive party, it’s been proven that we run a positive campaign in here, and what we didn’t want to see is this kind of negative neo-con Tea Party kind of views coming into our party.
Good morning, Jamie Grierson here. I’m standing in for Andrew Sparrow and will be taking you through the most intriguing political stories of the day. “And what are they?” I hear you cry.
Devolution or revolution
I’d love to be in the room for this one. David Cameron spent much of the election campaign warning the electorate against ushering in a new government poisoned by the influence of the SNP, a party he accused of being hellbent on ripping apart the union. Nicola Sturgeon rarely missed an opportunity to tell voters she wanted nothing more than to see Cameron “locked out of Downing Street”. Today, the two political powerhouses are to meet face to face in Edinburgh, perhaps with a cup of tea, and thrash out devolution demands and concessions for Scotland. In remarks made ahead of the meeting, Cameron appears to be offering a conciliatory tone, promising to “remain true” to his commitments to Scotland and “respect” the SNP leader’s role. Sturgeon, however, remains bullish, reiterating her warning that it “simply cannot be business as usual when it comes to Westminster’s attitude to Scotland”. But just in time to stoke up the tension, a senior SNP source has suggested the nationalists would be prepared to push ahead with a second independence referendum without Cameron’s permission if the prime minister refuses any future demand to hold one. Here’s an extract from the Guardian’s article:
The Scottish National party would be prepared to push ahead with a second independence referendum without David Cameron’s permission if the prime minister refuses any future demand to hold one, a senior party source in Westminster has indicated.
The party would be prepared to try to bypass the prime minister and hold an indicative ballot of the Scottish people if it believes it has a political mandate for a referendum but Westminster refuses to allow one.
When talking about whether Cameron would be able to refuse another demand for an independence vote, the senior SNP source claimed that the prime minister would not be able to, adding that “precedent is all”.
#CoupKip
In true testament to how quickly political stories can blow up, Ukip yesterday saw rumoured infighting rapidly escalate into full-scale public civil war. Murmurings around Douglas Carswell’s dissatisfaction with party funding arrangements soon morphed into dissatisfaction with Nigel Farage’s grip on the leadership. Murmurings quickly turned into cold, hard on-the-record objections from MEP Patrick O’Flynn, which ultimately led to two of Farage’s closest aides to be forced out of the party. Ukip’s indefatigable head-honcho, just days after the unresignation that arguably triggered this crisis, appeared on Question Time last night and defended his decision to remain, insisting he had received “phenomenal” support. But the row continues this morning as one of those departing aides - Farage’s former chief of staff Raheem Kassam - lashed out at Carswell and O’Flynn for bringing the party into “major national disrepute”. Here’s an extract from a Press Association article:
Ukip’s only MP and its campaign chief are bringing the party into “major national disrepute” in the row over Nigel Farage’s leadership and should leave, the leader’s former chief of staff has said.
Raheem Kassam, who will leave the party at the end of the month, hit out at MP Douglas Carswell and Patrick O’Flynn, the economics spokesman who sparked an explosive row over Mr Farage’s leadership after accusing him of turning the party into a “personality cult”.
Mr O’Flynn’s comments have led to open warfare with several senior Ukip figures calling for Mr Farage to stand down, while others have lined up to defend him.
Mr Farage has dismissed the row as “people letting off steam” and insisted a leadership contest would be a “massive, massive mistake”.
Mr Kassam has backed his former boss and dragged Mr Carswell - seen as a potential replacement for Mr Farage - into the row, accusing the MP and Mr O’Flynn of acting on “purely selfish terms” and calling for the pair to leave.
Labour leadership contest taking shape
Another day, another Labour leadership bid. Mary Creagh took the interesting step last night of announcing her bid in the anti-Labour Mail Online. She now joins Liz Kendall, Chuka Umunna, Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper in aspiring to take up the mantle so dramatically dropped by Ed Miliband following his crushing defeat in the general election. On last night’s Question Time, Tristram Hunt said he was “interested” in the leadership but fell short of officially launching a bid. But as David Dimbleby warned him, he’d better hurry up; the ring is filling with hats. Here’s an extract from the Mail article on Creagh’s bid:
Wakefield MP Mary Creagh said Labour ‘lost because people did not trust us on the economy’ and had not spoken for millions of aspirational voters and small businesspeople.
Miss Creagh, an effective media and Commons performer seen to have landed blows on the last Government on issues such as the horsemeat scandal, had not been expected to run following Ed Miliband’s resignation.
But with no clear frontrunner having emerged, the shadow international development secretary threw her hat into the ring.
She vowed to stand up for the small firms and entrepreneurs that are the ‘backbone’ of the economy.
Mr Miliband’s anti-business rhetoric saw business leaders overwhelmingly back the Tories – and this week prompted Lord Sugar, the star of The Apprentice, to quit the party after 18 years.
Murphy’s Law
Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse for Labour, pressure is mounting on the party’s Scottish leader, Jim Murphy, to step down. Left-wing Scottish Labour activists have urged him to resign to allow the party to reconnect with the public without the distraction of a rejected MP at the helm. Here’s a report from PA:
A meeting of about 100 activists organised by the Campaign For Socialism yesterday reached the almost unanimous decision that “Jim Murphy must go”.
Campaign chairman Vince Mills has passed the gathering’s message, which has been endorsed by Labour activist Stephen Low, to the Scottish Labour Executive ahead of its meeting on Saturday.
Labour members are split on Mr Murphy’s future, with senior MPs and MSPs publicly defending the recently-ousted East Renfrewshire MP, insisting Labour’s problems pre-date his appointment as leader and were too deeply entrenched to turn around in a few months.
But trade union members, many of whom backed left-wing candidate Neil Findlay in the leadership contest last year, have urged Mr Murphy to go.
Please comment below the line, I look forward to hearing what you have to say on the day’s events. And please tweet me at @jamiegrierson.
.jpg?w=600)
