Chuka Umunna MP

This week sees the start of Fairtrade Fortnight, helping raise awareness of the Fairtrade brand and the benefits it has brought to workers in developing countries. Sales of Fairtrade goods have gone from strength to strength, growing on average by 40% per year, while the worldwide market for Fairtrade goods is seventy times as large as it was ten years ago.

This trend of ethical shopping reflects a growing awareness of development issues and a desire to influence positive change. Fairtrade goods ensure a fair deal for producers through a guaranteed price and that social and environmental standards are met. The ‘Fairtrade premium’, which is the money paid on top of the minimum price for the product, is reinvested in local development projects, decided upon democratically by the workers themselves. In developing countries, Fairtrade has made huge strides in improving pay, living conditions and opportunities whilst putting local communities in the driving seat.

Trade plays a crucial role in sustainable development. As well as committing significant resources to ethical trading initiatives such as Fairtrade, the Government has led international efforts to secure fairer trading rules. The ‘Aid for Trade’ initiative helps developing countries build their trading capacities, and will receive over £400m a year from the Government by 2010.

At its heart, Fairtrade is about empowering workers in the developing world. Visit the Fairtrade foundation’s website and watch the short film above, from South Africa, to find out more about the gains it can bring.

On this historic day when the first Black President of the United States of America is sworn in, two local residents tell us what the inauguration of Barack Obama means to them.

“I’m excited to see what Obama’s ground breaking Presidency will bring the millions of Americans who are suffering in the current economic turmoil. His Presidency also opens up a great opportunity for Britain and the rest of Europe to work together to build peace in the Middle East, an ambitious programme to tackle climate change and will provide impetuous to meet the UN Development Goals.”
- Anne Fairweather (left with Chuka), Streatham resident and Labour candidate in London for the European elections this June 

“It dawned on me that Obama’s election is not just about the election of the first African American president of the United States, it also means that we - the black community - are fast running out of reasons to remain at the periphery of human progress.  He has shown that racism alone is no longer the reason we should not aspire and make progress.”
- Bethel Anele, Streatham resident and Obama for America campaign volunteer (Florida, 2008)

“Barack Obama has shown us that politics can genuinely work to make the world better. In the face of despondency and apathy he has reminded us that every individual can have their own unique impact on their community, their city, their country and the world. To me, Obama represents hope, wisdom, strength and the dawn of a brighter future.”
- Alice Deville, Streatham resident

You can catch Chuka between 11am and 12pm today on the BBC News Channel’s Inauguration Special. Also, check out Polly Toynbee’s Guardian column today on the inauguration and its implications for British politics which features Chuka: “We will all remember where we were today – even in lazily cynical Britain”, Polly Toynbee.

Chuka will be joining in the celebrations surrounding the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday 20th January. In the morning, he will be appearing on the BBC News Channel between 11am and 12pm, along with other leading political figures. You can watch the BBC News Channel live here: BBC News Channel.

In the afternoon, Chuka will be paying a visit to Lambeth College’s Brixton Centre and speaking to staff and students there about the inauguration and British politics in general. The Brixton Centre is about to undergo a £50 million government funded investment programme to make it a state-of-the-art technology centre for construction, engineering and media skills training. To find out more about the Brixton Centre, visit the website: Lambeth College – Brixton Centre.

Chuka has signed a joint statement on the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The statement calls for the immediate and permanent cessation of military activities by all combatants, urging the UK and International Community to prioritise renewing and rebuilding the Middle East peace process.

Its signatories condemn the bombing of UN schools as “both unnecessary and avoidable”, and support efforts to end the blockade of Gaza to allow the free movement of civilians and distribution of humanitarian aid.

The signatories also welcome the UK Government’s early call for a ceasefire between the two sides, but contrast it to “the deafening silence of our country’s leaders during the Lebanon conflict in 2006.”

Commenting on the crisis today, Chuka added,
 ”I appreciate the desire for Israel to act in the face of rocket attacks by Hamas targetting Israeli civilians, but Israel’s use of force in response – leading to the deaths now of over 700 Palestinians – has been totally disproportionate”.

You can read the full statement here.

Words cannot express how happy I am at the victory of Barack Obama in the US Presidential election last week.  He is a huge inspriation and I think he has all the makings of one of the finest presidents that country has seen.  Some of my personal thoughts on his election are below.

I have never seen anything like it. I had the honour of presenting prizes at Dunraven secondary school in Streatham last week, a school whose most famous ex pupil is supermodel and Streatham native, Naomi Campbell. For all her alleged faults, Campbell is an icon, but in the course of the evening the school principal mentioned a very different model – Present Elect Barack Obama.

Young people are supposedly so switched off and removed from politics that many don’t bother to vote if they can. But the instant reaction of those present at the prize-giving to the mere mention of Obama’s name was loud cheers and applause – and he is not even their president! When Labour came to power in 1997, can you imagine Tony Blair getting the same kind of response? I think not.

Everyone is asking – could we see an Obama figure in the UK? Undoubtedly Obama’s multiethnic heritage is part of his appeal. There is something in his background that we can all relate to and grab hold of. Here we have seen great progress on ethnic minority representation this last decade with the appointment of the first ever ethnic minority ministers to the Labour government – there were none before, there are 7 now. The numbers of ethnic minority MPs is projected to rise to 25 in the next parliament, up from 9 in 1998.

And though we still have a long way to go in turning Parliament into a place that looks like Britain of the 2000s rather than the 1950s, the elevation of the junior Senator from Illinois to the most powerful office on the planet surely makes further strides more, not less, likely.

Some ask whether I think my unusual name could hinder me when I ask the good people of Streatham to put a cross by my name at the next General Election – well I need not worry if someone called “Barack Hussein Obama” can make it to the White House. More importantly, many more young people who share Obama’s heritage are saying “yes I can” and taking a serious look at getting involved.

The obstacles for today’s new politicians of colour are not what they were for their parents’ generation. The army of Obama fans enthused by what they have seen in this year’s presidential election will be demanding a place at the top table. Expect to see many more putting themselves forward to be local councillors, assembly members and members of parliament in the near future.

However those who focus on Obama’s race somewhat miss the point. Yes, eight years of one of the worst US presidents in history and an economy in turmoil helped, but it was Obama’s ability to inspire and his determination to move away from the harsh, shrill, “punch and judy” politics of yesterday, to a politics of change, hope and working together across different lines which clinched it in my view. That is the model that we should all be seeking to follow.