Celebrities
Matthew Champion
Sep 02, 2015
Chuka Umunna has told all Labour supporters to rally behind Jeremy Corbyn if he, as expected, wins the leadership.
Umunna, who aborted his own leadership campaign just days into the race, has previously accused Corbyn supporters of "behaving like a petulant child who has been told you can't have the sweeties in the sweetshop, you can't have power".
He told BBC2's Newsnight back in July: "Now we're running around stamping our feet, screaming at the electorate when ultimately what we need to do is meet people where they are at, not necessarily where we would want them to be."
But Umunna, seen as being on the right of the Labour Party, said in a speech in the Netherlands that "solidarity is key":
We must accept the result of our contest when it comes and support our new leader in developing an agenda that can return Labour to office.
I do not think we can simply dismiss out of hand those who hold critical views of New Labour. Like any government, the New Labour administration made mistakes – it could and should have achieved more and done more to challenge the right’s assumptions about the world.
Umunna also refused to explicitly confirm or deny whether he would accept a position in Corbyn's shadow Cabinet, if he won the election.
More: Kay Burley interview with Labour MP over Jeremy Corbyn doesn't go as planned
Top 100
The Conversation (0)