Chuka Umunna is a Labour supporter, no he's for Change UK, no he's now a LibDem

[longwayoff]

Apparently. Nothing like having a firm set of beliefs and principles.

The current Labour Party doesn’t fit with his principles. It’s gone further left since he joined. He tried something new with Change UK but it didn’t work out so he’s joined the party which most closely fits him, there’s nothing wrong with that.

I don’t understand tribalism in politics. Just because something has a blue or red rosette, doesn’t mean you always have to support it, especially if they change their values. He’s a remainer and Corbyn is a leaver. Prominent members of labour (Hooey, Mann) are supporting a no deal Brexit. I’d leave too. Change UK didn’t come to anything so again I understand him leaving. I’d leave a failing company too.

I don’t get people who get upset by people leaving things like political parties, football players changing teams etc. It’s weird.

Btw I voted Lib Dem for the first time ever in the EU elections. I think they have a real chance of providing true opposition at a time when we need it most in this country because the Tories will give us Capitalism on steroids once Johnson is crowned.

A lot of leavers in Northern towns are going to look back fondly on the Thatcher years compared to the Johnson years. He’s already slagged off Liverpool. He has no time for the working class.

His choice but...

The people in his constituency were voting Labour not Chuka. He should hold a by-election immediately.

I reserve my condemnation for those who choose to stay in the cesspit of anti semitism, envy and hate that is the current Labour Party I’m afraid.

I know how he feels...its just like me when buying new shoes...sometimes you just can;t make up your mind! I would suggest our pal Chucka buys himself a fence to sit on! All this tooing and frowing makes him look like he is feathering his own nest to me.Hold your horses everyone he might chuck his hat in with the Greens next week!

I think he feels like many anti Brexit labour voters unsure what to do or where his ideas belong.

Poor chukka.

I’m not particularly a fan of Umunna but Churchill changed party twice and his political career survived it. I seem to recall he did quite well in the 40s.

I was so disappointed when the change uk thing failed, but it is almost an impossible to set up a new party in our system. I could have supported them. I think for chuka the Brexit issue is above everything. As a remainer I understand that but I will be really interested to see if chuka is a liberal rather than centre left. Does he really agree with their views on prostitution, opposing an age limit for porn etc etc.

I'm not against politicians changing parties in principle.

However Chuka Umunna is a huge opportunist and careerist, he has always fancied himself to be a big shot and I see his actions more about him trying to find the best way to jostle to the top than about policy issues.

I’m a Lib Dem supporter and very happy to hear this. I like Chuka and think he’ll be an asset to the party.

I can see why he left Labour in the first place but, to jump from one minority party to another seems a bit odd

i like him - and i understand what he stands for far more than many members of labour or cons party right now.

I think it’s a smart and realistic move. He has his values he’s stuck by them. I’m not sure how anyone can call him opportunistic and a career politician. He’s damaged his career by doing this, but he’s sticking to his beliefs. I’ve always really liked him and I continue to.

Basically matches my own feelings and political journey over the last few years so I respect him, especially since it's basically political suicide. I think it shows more political weathervane behaviour to stay in a party these days with their values and policies swinging all over the place than to leave and at least attempt to be true to your principles.

It's quite possible his politics haven't changed though, isn't it?

Labour has gone to the left.
He tried to form a new party but that failed, so his 'best fit' party is now the lib dems.

Seems fine to me.

He's sticking to his principals whilst all around him move. It takes guts to do that.

Political parties aren't football teams you know.

Tweet dated 4 June 2014:
"LibDem supporters - please stop asking me to join. I wouldn't be seen dead in a yellow rosette and that's a #Chukapromise". Of course, that's while he was still anticipating his brief but unsuccessful tilt at the Labour leadership.

When he co-founded TIG or Change UK or whatever they are calling themselves this week, he angled for the leadership but by then Anna Soubry and Chris Leslie's respective spouses had bagged key roles and after some debate, Heidi Allen emerged as the new leader. Since then, it's disintegrated before our eyes.

Now Chuka's moved on to the Lib Dems. Expect this "man of principle" to make a bid for the leadership in the future. And if that doesn't work out, expect him to move on again.

Sorry, my cynicism is showing again 😁

*I admire him for his principles but I think it’s a daft to just join another party like this - he still has to earn a living, at the end of the day.

he basically ended his political career? *

He’s very likely to lose his seat. But he’s a smart man; he won’t be out of a job for long. And I’d far rather have someone like that, who sticks up for what he believes in on the biggest issue of our time, than those MPs who toe the party line because they’re terrified of losing the best job they’ll ever get. (This, by the way, is why we need to take the politically unpopular step of paying MPs a lot more - eg top end civil service pay. Otherwise, we will only get the monied (who can afford to take a massive pay cut for a while for the prestige/future directorships) or the people who aren’t talented enough to do something much better paid. We lose vast swathes of talented people because of this.)

He's nothing but a career politician. Only going to where he might be successful.

If he were principled then he certainly wouldn't be moving parties.

After all that he said about the Lib Dems .... No wonder people don't trust politicians.

Churchill crossed the floor more than once. Surely it’s more principled than staying with your party when its values conflict with yours?

I like Chuka. I like that he is a politician with principles. I voted for Change UK in the EU elections because I feel the MP's that defected there were doing it for the right reasons. I have always voted Labour. I will not be voting them anytime soon

If he were principled then he certainly wouldn't be moving parties.

I disagree. The Labour Party he joined was a centre left party. It’s now moved to become a party dominated by a socialist agenda. So he’s moving to a centre left party again. Makes perfect sense to me; much more so than all this “I’ve always been Labour” guff.

Chuka Umunna is a huge opportunist and careerist

Yep!

If he disagreed with the Labour Party's policy on Brexit so much, he should have left when party conference adopted that policy last September.

Tbh, if he'd stayed, he quite probably would have been deselected anyway.

No view on the man himself but I find it quite worrying that there is this rigid view of politics - that it is a dreadful thing to change your mind ever. There are clearly some who take the piss and flip flop between supporting different policies and approaches depending on what will get them to the top. And they should be called out for that. But not at the expense of no politician ever being allowed to revise their stance. MPs should still be able to a) leave their party/vote against the party line if it no longer represents their principles without knee jerk condemnation. Rigid two party politics is not necessarily the best option for the country. And b) they should be able to change their views in light of new evidence/information, again, without knee jerk condemnation.