Chuka Umunna MP

Yesterday, Chuka was appointed by Labour Party leader Ed Miliband as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills as part of a frontbench reshuffle.

He will shadow Business Secretary Vince Cable and will lead the Opposition Shadow Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) team, focusing on business, enterprise, science and universities.

He replaces the Rt Hon John Denham MP who has left the Shadow Cabinet this week and will now serve as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.

Chuka was appointed Shadow Minister for Small Business & Enterprise in May and previously served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, Ed Miliband.

Commenting on the appointment, Chuka said:

“I am honoured to have been asked to join the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Business Secretary.

“It is my absolute priority to push for the growth and jobs which we so urgently need in Lambeth and across the country, and the better economy of the future which we are seeking to create.”

Britain needs a better capitalism. Not just for its people, but for its businesses too. Just as the 1980s brought a welcome end to the excessive regulation and bossy governmental control of post-war social democracy, so the next decade needs to witness the end of the do-what-you-can and take-what-you-want capitalism that led us to the financial crash. Helping to bring a better capitalism into being to provide an answer to the problems of stagnant growth and falling living standards is the overwhelming political and economic imperative of our time.

This was the crucial message at the heart of Ed Miliband’s address to the Labour Party conference last week. But the idea of a “better capitalism” did not originate in the Leader of the Opposition’s office. Indeed, it did not come from politics of any sort. Instead, it came from business itself.

It evolved from the efforts of Britain’s best companies, very large and small, to grapple with increasing public expectations and challenging economic conditions. The result is clear – a model of better capitalist practice, which is now frequently taught in our leading business schools, even if it has only recently reached our political consciousness now. It does not require that we label each business as “good” or “bad” as critics have crudely demanded; it is more a question of asking what characteristics add value to a company and to our economy at the same time, and what can be done to nurture them.

The model has three essential features:

First it recognises what is emblazoned across Google’s web pages in every country: “people are our most important asset.” Successful firms now recognise that effective worker engagement at all levels is a means of releasing innovation and creativity. When our people are our economy’s greatest asset, we must support the businesses that invest in that asset.

Second, it acknowledges that transformative product innovation is vital for the success of the British economy. It is not enough to rely just on the response to immediate demand. We must learn from the approach in countries like Germany that have seen businesses thrive whilst their counterparts in Britain have lost out.

Third, as GSK’s Andrew Witty has said, Britain’s big companies have allowed themselves to be seen as “being detached from society”. Successful firms increasingly recognise that traditional ways of doing business can place substantial strains on the places in which they are located and the people with whom they come into contact. The new business model acknowledges these tensions and responds to them positively, even drawing local communities into key decision-making processes.

None of these ideas has been driven by government. They have come from companies themselves. To ignore them would be truly anti-business. Only companies themselves can fully appreciate the challenges they face and only they possess the flexibility necessary to respond. Nonetheless, if they are to succeed they will need proper public understanding, stable partners from the state and voluntary sectors, and a supportive regulatory regime. And that is where politics comes in.

Ed Miliband shocked many in Britain’s chattering classes when he presented this vision in Liverpool. Listening to his detractors, it would be easy to imagine that everything was well with the developed world’s businesses. As if there had been no financial crash, no currency crises. As if Britain’s greatest businesses were finding life easy, when in fact the question is more what we can do to help them thrive. Britain needs a better form of capitalism precisely because our best businesses need an economy which works for them if Britain is to grow sustainably in the long run.

“The moment for a new conception of capitalism is now,” Harvard Business School Professors Michael Porter and Mark Kramer argued recently. And they are right. It is time for Westminster to understand that demand and to help to make it happen.

Chuka Umunna MP is Shadow Business Secretary and Labour Member of Parliament for Streatham

Published in The Times, Saturday 8 October 2011

Residents in Lambeth will have seen the Boundary Commission for England’s proposals published this week. Lambeth’s principal town centres are currently represented by the three of us. Under the proposals Lambeth will be carved up between six new parliamentary constituencies with a disregard for borough boundaries and historic districts.

The stated aim of the legislation which brought the Boundary Review into being was to even out the number of registered electors in each constituency, yet the review ignored the fact that areas like Lambeth contain a disproportionate number of people who are not on the register.

The truth is that the review was politically motivated and designed to advantage the Conservative Party as many independent commentators have made clear. The result is that just when our communities need more representation than ever, in this age of austerity and when our constituents are having to cope with too far too fast government cuts, we will see less representation in the future for one of the most deprived boroughs in the country.

We will be voting against these proposals when they are put before the House of Commons in late 2013 not because of any personal interest but because they are the wrong thing for this borough which we love so much.

We want to assure all of our constituents in Lambeth that we were elected to serve the people in each constituency for this parliament and that is what we will do right up until the next General Election regardless of what comes after.

Kate Hoey MP
Member of Parliament for Vauxhall

Chuka Umunna MP
Member of Parliament for Streatham

Thank you to everyone who came along to Chuka’s coffee afternoon last week at the Weir Link Centre – it was great to see so many residents there and a range of interesting issues were raised, including constituents’ concerns about the Government’s proposed changes to the NHS, planning policy, and Government regulation of childminders.

Chuka will continue to hold regular events like this around the constituency, so watch this space!

This Friday, 29 July, Chuka will be hosting a coffee afternoon for constituents between 2pm and 4pm at the Weir Link Centre, 33 Weir Road, London SW12 0NU.

If you’d like to speak to Chuka about a national policy issue, a personal casework matter, or anything else, please feel free to stop by at some point during the afternoon for a cup of tea or coffee and a chat. If you know anyone else in the area who might be interested, please pass the invitation along to them as well.

Following a burst water main on Brixton Hill early this morning, thousands of homes across South London have been without water or have had difficulties with low water pressure.

Traffic is being severely affected, with Brixton Hill closed northbound at Streatham Place and southbound at Acre Lane and diversions are in place. Bus services between Brixton and Streatham Hill are also being diverted accordingly.

Thames Water are working to repair the burst main – for the latest updates on the situation visit Thames Water Live and type in your post code.

For the latest travel updates, visit TFL live travel news.

Thames Water expects that Brixton Hill will open to northbound traffic this evening but that repairs on the southbound lane could continue until Saturday afternoon. Because the burst main also resulted in damage to a gas pipeline, the start of repairs on the water main were delayed until 4pm.

Below is a statement which we have received from Thames Water:

“The Thames Water event vehicle is in place near to where the water main burst at the junction of Elm Park and this will remain in place to assist residents with any queries they might have.”

Chuka is hosting a Coffee Afternoon for local residents this week at Corpus Christi RC Church, Trent Road, SW2 5BJ

It is taking place this Thursday June 30th between 2.00pm and 4.00pm – please feel free to pop by at some point during the afternoon and to invite anyone else you think might be interested from the local area –perhaps you’d like to raise a personal casework issue, a national policy issue or would just like to have a chat with Chuka.

Recently Chuka took part in an event organised by a local group raising money for relief in Japan following the March tsunami. The group has folded more than 1,000 origami cranes – a symbol of world peace.

Following the tragic events in Tulse Hill this week, Chuka submitted the statement below to the Lambeth Community Police Consultative Group (CPCG) meeting which took place last night:

Dear all

You will now all have heard of the senseless killing of yet another young man from and in our community – my constituent Nana Darko Frempong.

When we hear of a life tragically lost in our community, our hearts sink – we can only imagine the pain that their loved ones are going through. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.

We, together as a community, will do all we can to support and comfort them at this very difficult time – let there be no doubt: we are right behind them.

I will not comment on the details of this particular incident as I do not wish to prejudice the police investigation which is ongoing, save to say that it is totally unacceptable that this is happening on our streets, we will work together to tackle the root causes and, above all, we must bring the perpetrators of these acts to justice.

Clearly we have a problem given the number of incidents that have occurred of late. There are many things we need to do which I have already mentioned at CPCG before. Above all, we need much better joined up working locally and nationally to prevent these tragedies occurring. We are already working towards this as you will hear this evening from the police and the Council; I am doing all I can to address this in Parliament at a national level.

I am sorry I cannot be with you this evening – we are voting on important counter terrorism measures in the House of Commons tonight. However, you can speak to my office manager Anna Coffey who is in attendance and/or contact me directly with your thoughts on this issue.

Yours in solidarity,

Chuka

Streatham MP Chuka Umunna has used a debate in Parliament to thank his constituents for the opportunity to serve them.

Mr Umunna, who was elected a year ago in May 2010, made the statement at the opening of a debate he led in the Chamber on Friday.

He opened his speech by saying:

“I should like to say to my constituents that I have been a Member of Parliament for a year this week, and I have loved every week.

“It has been a great pleasure to serve the people of my constituency, and I will continue to work my socks off for them so long as I have the privilege of sitting in the House.”