On the back of the Osborne disabled parking story, I see we have another one today. Labour’s Chuka Umunna is being taken to task for comments he made about West End nightlife. This is what the Daily Mail said…
In public he’s a hard-working man of the people, a rising star from South London tipped to become Labour leader one day. In private, however, it seems Chuka Umunna – hailed by his admirers as Britain’s Barack Obama – is happy to be a man of the social elite, with a distinct taste for the high life. The former DJ, now Labour’s shadow business secretary, belongs to an exclusive online club for so-called ‘jetrosexuals’, where he asked for tips on the best nightspots to avoid the ‘trash and C-list wannabes’ of London’s West End. Fellow members of ASmallWorld, which has been described as MySpace for millionaires, reportedly include Tiger Woods and Naomi Campbell. On ASmallWorld, however, he was bemoaning the lack of ‘decent’ clubs in London’s West End, writing: ‘Is it just me or is there a serious lack of cool places to go in central London at the weekends. ‘Most of the West End haunts seem to be full of trash and C-list wannabes, while other places that should know better opt for the cheesy vibe.’ Praising a club he had recently visited in Kensington, he asked for suggestions for ‘a trash-free, decent night’.
Now, all this might be worth a little comment or two, but these were comments made by Chuka Umunna nearly eight years ago, back in 2006 – four years before he became an MP. Again, is this really a page lead story?
And in any case, so what if an aspiring Labour poltician bemoans the lack of decent clubs in the West End. It’s hardly controversial. I suppose the word ‘trash’ has all sorts of connotations, but again, is a seven year old comment really worth so much fuss? Unfortunately Chuka has been said ‘fair cop, guv’ and apologised ;for any offence caused’. What a pity he didn’t just say ‘yeah? So what? Sod off’.
