Regularly referred to as the British Obama, Mr Umunna, 36, was born to a Nigerian father and is a lawyer, first elected into parliament in 2010. Bookmakers have made him the favourite to take over as the Labour Party leader following the resignation of Ed Miliband following the party's loss in last week's general election.
Yesterday, Mr Umunna formally declared his intention to run for party leader, ending days of speculation about whether he would be a candidate or not. Other aspirants gunning for the top job include Liz Kendall, Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham and Tristram Hunt.
Mr Umunna said: “I am pleased today to be announcing that I will be standing for the leadership of the party. Some have actually suggested over the last few days that somehow this is now a 10 year project to get the Labour Party back into office but I think the Labour Party can do it in five years and I want to lead that effort.”
He added that during the election campaign his party had concentrated its policies too much on the poorest and the richest, ignoring the majority of people in-between. In a video released on Facebook, Mr Umunna said he could lead the party back to power within five years.
"I think we can be winning in seats like Swindon North and Swindon South. I want to lead that effort as part of a really big Labour team, getting Labour back into office, building a fairer, more equal society that’s why we all joined the party in the first place.
“I think Ed Miliband was too hard on himself by saying that all the responsibility for the general election rested with him. I don’t think it did as I think it was a collective failure on the front team, so to speak,” Mr Umunna added.
According to Mr Umunna, the Labour Party should be on the side of those who are doing well and that no one should be too rich or poor to be a member. It is believed he has the private backing of former Prime Minister Tony Blair to be the party’s next leader.
Suave-looking, Mr Umunna was promoted to shadow business secretary barely two years after winning his Streatham seat and quickly became one of Labour’s most high-profile figures. Before entering Parliament, he studied law at Manchester University and upon graduation got a job at the top city law firm, Herbert Smith.
Born in London in 1978 to a Nigerian businessman Bennett and a wealthy British mother, Patricia, whose father was a high court judge, Mr Umunna is regarded as a protege of Peter Mandelson. His father moved to Britain to set up a successful import-export business eventually earning enough to buy the family’s luxury holiday home in Ibiza.
Bennett Umunna, who was at a time the financier of Rangers International Football Club, returned to Nigeria to embark on a political career, as an anti-corruption crusader but died in a road accident in 1992. He became a director of Crystal Palace in the late 1980s after investing £50,000 in the club.
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