Breaking: Chuka Umunna withdraws from Labour leadership contest

In the past few minutes, Chuka Umunna has announced he is not standing for the Labour leadership after all, citing ‘pressure’ that he found uncomfortable. This is odd, although Friday is the day when Sunday journalists get to work on big stories, and Umunna may have got wind of something that he felt was particularly intrusive. No Sunday journalists I’ve spoken to have a story on him. Thus far the main unpleasant write-up he’s received has been on a blog that claimed he was too old to have a girlfriend, which seemed easy enough to laugh off. It might be that he was receiving repeated questions from a number of outlets about something, rather than there being one story in particular. It could be that Umunna also feels that it is too soon to stand for Labour leader, and that the party is about to go into a long period of soul-searching in which leading Labour would be a thankless task followed by another defeat in 2020. Apart from anything else, the gains the party needs to make in five years’ time are enormous, and that election may just be about working back from a terrible defeat, rather than winning. What this means for the wider contest is that the Blairite vote is less split than it was before: the risk that many centre-left types were acutely aware of was that too many good candidates on their side of the party would mean those on the left of the party could win. Here is his full statement:

‘Shortly before the election campaign, I made the decision, in the event that Labour was defeated and a new Leader was to be elected, to stand for the leadership of the party if there was a desire in the party for me to do so. ‘I dearly hoped Labour would win the election and it was a decision I would not have to implement. I also thought I understood the scrutiny and attention a leadership contest would bring. ‘As a member of the Shadow Cabinet, I am used to a level of attention which is part and parcel of the job. I witnessed the 2010 leadership election process close up and thought I would be comfortable with what it involved. ‘However since the night of our defeat last week I have been subject to the added level of pressure that comes with being a leadership candidate. I have not found it to be a comfortable experience. One can imagine what running for leader can be like, understand its demands and attention but nothing compared to actually doing it and the impact on the rest of one’s life. ‘Consequently after further reflection I am withdrawing my candidacy. I apologise to all those who have kindly supported and encouraged me to to do this and for disappointing them. I know this will come as a surprise to many but I had always wondered whether it was all too soon for me to launch this leadership bid – I fear it was. ‘Most importantly, I continued to have very real concerns and worry about this bid’s impact on those close to me. I intend to carry on playing my full role as a proud member of our Shadow Cabinet taking on the Tories. I also hope to play a leading role in Labour’s campaign to keep the UK in the EU during the forthcoming referendum which is absolutely crucial. Most importantly, I will as ever continue to serve the area I know and love – the Streatham parliamentary constituency.’

UPDATE, 11.15: William Hill has updated odds for the leadership contest. Umunna had been 11/8 favourite, but now Andy Burnham is 6/4 favourite.