Chuka withdraws from the leadership contest!

[MagentaVitus]

With a turn around that quick, there has got to be a scandal.

What's your bet on? Mine is either scam girlfriend or money troubles.

Thoughts?

Maybe claig, but I do think, FTB, being gay, black, wealthy, public school educated and having slightly dodgy tax arrangements might be a step too far.....

The metropolian media tells us tha UKIP is homophobic. UKIP's Scottish leader is gay and UKIP voters vote for him because he is not politically correct and speaks common sense, being gay is irrelevant.

I very much doubt there is some secret about him being gay. He's been seeing the same woman for three years and there is really not an issue with MPs being gay. Given his socialising circles it would be a miracle if he hasn't tried class a drugs, but I would imagine he has been very careful since becoming an MP. If there was some big scandal it would have come out. The most the papers seem to have is that he's rich.

'If there was some big scandal it would have come out'

The media very rarely let big scandals come out. The bigger the scandal, the more control over someone there is. Just look at the disgusting scandals over Cyril Smith and that lot. They were all covered up for.

You can't really believe a lot of what the metropolitan media says, but here is the Daily Mail again (although it may note be true).

"Umunna chose to mark his entry into the leadership contest by arriving at the BBC for an interview with Andrew Marr last Sunday parading girlfriend Alice Sullivan on his arm. There is no question it is not a genuine relationship, but he hadn’t even met her dad"

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3084677/Exposed-Chuck-Chuka-s-shady-secret-Labour-MP-belongs-members-den-300-cognac-locker-bar-named-rattled-leadership-contender.html

There is absolutely no way the press would have withheld a negative story about a shadow Cabinet member in the run up to the election. No way.

Yes they would Daisy. They didn't need it. They'll be saving it for if/when it will really matter, or for leverage if he ever actually has any power.

Agree, RiskManagement

The press and the Establishment keep their cards up their sleeves for when they want to trump their opponents.

Hardly a mention about Chuka's withdrawal on the Sunday Politics by the metropolitan Westminster commentariat. Amazing, when it is probably the biggest story of the week that Labour's golden boy has withdrawn from the leadership contest after just 3 days.

My guess is poor Chuka put himself forward, then it dawned on him how profoundly fucked the Labour Party is right now and he's decided to forego the William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith slots so he can swan in and be the next Blair in a few years' time.

I agree with claig, there are some massive stories out there that go unreported. It's actually quite vile.

It is quite ridiculous, pre general election eating a sandwich was front page news. Now, something interesting happens and nada.

'It is quite ridiculous, pre general election eating a sandwich was front page news. Now, something interesting happens and nada.'

Very good point. Pages of bacon sandwich analysis that act as a distraction from serious things, and nothing on questions that everyone is asking.

"Very good point. Pages of bacon sandwich analysis that act as a distraction from serious things, and nothing on questions that everyone is asking."

And they say we have a free press....

I'm not so sure that there is a big metropolitan conspiracy at work. Given the circumstances in which Chuka's father died (possibly not an accident but political motives at play) I can well understand that his family felt very uncomfortable at the press so eagerly sharpening its knives for a metaphorical assassination, and that he wouldn't want to subject them to further upset.

The worrying thing is that the press is getting worse and worse, and the election result has clearly told the newspaper editors that they can carry on precisely as they please. Soon no one will be willing to go into political leadership unless they are utterly power or fame hungry and our political crisis will just get worse. I can imagine someone decent like Dan Jarvis, for example, looking at this week's events (the nasty commentary, the press doorstepping, etc) and thinking no thanks, I'm not subjecting my family to that in the future.

'I'm not so sure that there is a big metropolitan conspiracy at work.'

The papers are saying that Chuka would like to be the Shadow Foreign Secretary. That's OK because the press will stop their scrutiny because that is not as important as Labour leader (eve though it is in fact important too).

So the press doesn't bother to scrutinise much for Shadow Foreign Secretary so SChuka won't be upset there, but for Labour leadership they do do a bit of scrutiny. How much they do is anyone's guess. Not as much as we are being told, I think.

"The Shadow Business Secretary said he has 'nothing to hide', having emerged as a front-runner to replace Ed Miliband"
...
Bruised Chuka Umunna has dismissed rumours of a secret scandal in his personal life and insisted: “There are no skeletons”.

The Shadow Business Secretary has been the subject of 48 hours of lurid ­speculation on social media since his shock exit from the Labour leadership race .

But the MP dubbed “Britain’s Obama” hit back: “I’ve never had anything to hide.”

In an exclusive interview, the former frontrunner declared he was “honest” about his experiences with drugs."

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/chuka-umunna-dismisses-scandal-rumours-5709819

I doubt it has anything to do with drugs or money.

"Asked if he feared a story involving drugs or his sexuality was about to emerge, Mr Umunna insisted: “No, no, no. When I’ve been asked about drugs I’ve been very open about that and other issues.

“Honestly, there is no revelation or no skeleton. You don’t run for the leadership of a major political party in this country if there is some information you don’t want to get into the public domain.”
...
Asked if he feared a story involving drugs or his sexuality was about to emerge, Mr Umunna insisted: “No, no, no. When I’ve been asked about drugs I’ve been very open about that and other issues.

“Honestly, there is no revelation or no skeleton. You don’t run for the leadership of a major political party in this country if there is some information you don’t want to get into the public domain.”
...
Asked if he would run again for Labour leader, Mr Umunna replied: “Am I saying that I would never consider doing it again? No. In ­parliamentary terms, I’m relatively young. I’ve got a whole career in front of me.”

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/chuka-umunna-dismisses-scandal-rumours-5709819

Doesn't sound like the press really went overboard.

I think he will marry and have children and then try again and the metropolitan media will drop the scrutiny.

This appears to be what upset him

"He revealed a broadsheet newspaper approached girlfriend Alice Sullivan’s parents and her 97-year-old gran “in the middle of their Sunday” at their home in Gloucestershire last weekend.

And on Thursday night, his mother Patricia returned to her South London home to find a reporter waiting on the doorstep."

How come the press originally told us that the gran was 102?

Who told them that?

I don't think being gay or even bi is an issue but hiding it has been difficult for a number of politicians. This is especially true when girlfriends have been paraded. I think this is why Simon Hughes got into hot water and then was outed by the phone tapping (hideous though this was).
All three parties - and especially labour- have large LGBT groups who promote MPs and candidates which makes it harder if it is hidden

I think it would be unusual if a poor Nigerian became a successful and hugely wealthy businessman and then politician, then died in what might be suspicious circumstances and there weren't any skeletons there, so maybe it's not his own scandal but his father's that might come out. (which could be true, or not, but there must be stories)

That shouldn't and probably wouldn't have much effect on his own success but I can understand why he wouldn't want to subject his family to that.

Given that the poor man was standing for election on an anti-corruption ticket at the time of the suspicious car crash that killed him (i.e. his anti-corruption stance could well have been the reason he died) that's not in great taste, Minimum.

Well, no but what ever the press have won't be in good taste. And even in Nigeria there are levels of corruption.

Re why didn't the press print during the campaign if there's dirt, it could well be they have a sniff of a story, rumours and gossip, but not actual firm evidence to run a story. With Simon Hughes as an example, there'd been rumours for a while, it took a phone tapping to get the proof to print. The press can't print gossip without something to back it up.

The truth is, if you are not willing to suck up to Murdoch, he will find some dirt, or make up some dirt just to destroy you.

He's done a " Gordon Brown" and agreed to support someone else in return for a reward later I bet.

But there's no obvious front-runner to do a deal with. He was the bookies' favourite wasn't he?

Speaking of "phone tapping" and "not willing to suck up to Murdock" - it depends on WHICH Murdock is getting Labour's physical attention at any given time - maybe using the sleepover (with children) at the Brown's at No. 11 to get the attention of the man next door.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/10758949/Rupert-Murdoch-tells-of-shock-when-he-first-heard-about-his-wifes-secret-meetings-with-Tony-Blair.html

When a press baron doesn't like your party politics, its business, but if you really want to make it really personal with a press baron.......nuff said.