Chuka Umunna says “never say never” to standing for Labour leadership as Jeremy Corbyn fights on
Former shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has said that he would "never say never" to leading the Labour party, while urging the party unite.
The Streatham MP was speaking amid ongoing turmoil within the Labour party after leader Jeremy Corbyn lost the confidence of most of the Parliamentary Labour Party with speculation he would not be able to win a potentially close general election and lead a lacklustre EU referendum campaign.
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A number of senior voices have even warned that the party is at risk of splitting.
Speaking to BBC Radio 2, Umunna said that he would "never say never" to "taking up the opporunity to lead the party".
However, he added that there isn't currently a vacancy for the top job in the Labour party.
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"What people are trying to do at the moment … is to try to come up with a negotiated solution to the problem that we have and a way forward, and I don’t want to compromise that because, as I said, this isn’t about me," Umunna said.
"We’ve got to resolve a situation where you have a sitting leader who doesn’t command the confidence of the party and will not leave of his own volition."
Umunna had previously thrown his hat into the ring for Labour leadership last year, but withdrew quickly to back Liz Kendall, who ended up coming last, behind Corbyn, Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper.