Chuka Umunna is still keeping quiet about his Labour leadership ambitions – though it’s only a matter of time before he declares his hand.
The Streatham MP used an article in Sunday’s Observer to outline his plans for the party, following this week’s General Election defeat.
And it read just like a campaign mission statement.
He claimed more must be done to target ‘aspirational, middle-class voters’ and while praising Ed Miliband, admitted the party had lurched too far to the left in a bid to rely on its core vote.
“We tried to cobble together a 35% coalition of our core vote, disaffected Lib Dems, Greens and Ukip supporters,” he wrote.
“The terrible results were the failure of that approach writ large. We need a different, big-tent approach – one in which no one is too rich or poor to be part of our party.
“We talked about the bottom and top of society, about the minimum wage and zero-hour contracts, about mansions and non-doms. But we had too little to say to the majority of people in the middle.
“We allowed the impression to arise that we were not on the side of those who are doing well.”
The Shadow Business Secretary outlined seven points in his vision for the future, claiming only the model that won them three elections under Tony Blair – when Labour took votes directly from the Conservatives – would see a reversal of fortunes.
He also said not enough was done to challenge a key Conservative allegation that Labour couldn’t be trusted with the economy.
“Our defeat was on the scale of 1992, but our revival can be on the scale of 1997, and just as rapid if we do what needs to be done,” added Umunna, who was one of Miliband’s earliest supporters as Labour leader.
“Labour is down, but not out. We must – and will – recover, and win again.”
Established party names Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper are considered the early frontrunners to succeed Miliband but many believe a fresh face – not tainted by the Blair and Brown years – is needed.
Rising star Liz Kendall, who like Umunna only entered Parliament in 2010, has already admitted her interest in an interview with the Sunday Times.
UPDATED: Mr Umunna refused to rule himself out of the Labour leadership race during an interview with Andrew Marr on the BBC, claiming he wanted to wait for the election timetabled to be finalised by party officials.
