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Interview


madness. His local MP was a mentor, and anyone with the sort of fascination for the way society works that Chuka has was probably always on the lookout for an opportunity. No matter. He is where he is now and most


people agree he’s doing a great job. Mention you’re going to interview Chuka Umunna and depending on who you’re speaking to the responses vary in their delivery, but are unanimous in their opinion – from the roadman’s: “Yeah man the bredda’s on point,” to the intellectual’s, “Yes, he’s doing rather well, isn’t he.” He’s very good. Ask him about any of the


subjects he covers and the answer is slick, polished, on point. Take, for example, the economy and what’s wrong with it. “In the short term our issue is undoubtedly


demand. Tat doesn’t mean that there isn’t a supply side reform that you can make so we have a better infrastructure, education and finance, but undoubtedly demand is the number one issue. “Tis is why we have argued for a short-term


stimulus to immediately kick-start demand and in the longer term we’ve got to reconfigure the British economy so that it is set up to meet the rising demand in the developing economies. We are going to see the global middle class balloon.” He’s passionate about Britain and extols


the country’s virtues as a financial power on the global stage. “We are still the ninth biggest on some figures, the seventh biggest manufacturing nation in the world, and there are sectors where we have a competitive edge and a comparative advantage where we are world leaders. So biotech, farming, automotive, food and drink, some low-carbon technologies, there are quite a lot of areas where we have already got that edge and we need to grow them so we meet the new demand coming from these economies.” He says that were he in government he


would pick “winning sectors” and work on them to make them better. He cites the success at the Olympics as an example of the strategy he would pursue. “Before we had always focused on the glamour track and field events, but then we took a step back and said, ‘No, where can we actually win gold medals?’ ” Labour in power. I return to a theme,


determined to get an answer out of him. Would you rule out leading your party? “I could not say that now, and I am always


slightly troubled when you hear these stories about people who have written on a napkin that they are going to be President or whatever, because I think ‘how do you know you are going to be the best person to do it in the future?’ It just seems rather arrogant and presumptuous to me and so I keep my feet on the ground and I don’t just go down that avenue.” One day soon, he may have to.


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Pic: John Ferguson


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