Although I had a private education at secondary level, I went to a local primary school where I mixed with kids of all backgrounds.
— Chuka Umunna
Leaving Labour was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do and it was not a cause of jubilation or happiness. I did it with great sadness, but you have to put the country first.
My family have shaped my politics more than anything else.
I'm boring, man.
I had to grow up very quickly.
My father, when he arrived in this country found it difficult.
Look, politics can be tough.
I honestly do feel like the luckiest man alive. I have a beautiful daughter, an amazing wife and not everyone has that. My close mates always laugh at me because I say I'm blessed, but I don't know what I did to deserve it.
I have multiple identities, never mind ethnically but in other respects... and it's even worse when they try to do it by reference to other people. This stupid term, 'Blairite,' that gets used in the Labour Party as a form of abuse, in spite of the fact this guy won three elections.
The Labour perspective is often very preoccupied with either the super-rich or those who don't have work - but doesn't have nearly enough to say to those who do have work, on incomes that may not mean they get benefits or tax credits, but are not well off people.
People may not know what tier of government has competence over which policy area but they do draw a distinction between the local and the national.
Labour has an impressive record of delivery for black Britain.
Banks provide payment systems, core deposit and lending facilities that enable us to manage our day to day affairs.
Comparing every black male politician on the scene to Obama is a bit lazy - just because I'm from a similar background and profession, it's such an easy comparison to make. It's also quite annoying being viewed through the prism of someone else's personality and identity, rather than your own.
I have a confession to make: I am a Labour parliamentary candidate but like and get on with some of the Conservative persuasion.
We do not just strive for a society in which every person has the opportunity to reach their full potential (all parties lay claim to that); we want to build a society in which whatever talents people have, they are rewarded with a comfortable standard of living when they apply them.
Whether it is clamping down on tax avoidance by multinationals, setting ambitious targets for tackling climate change, or reforming the posted workers' directive to better protect migrant workers, European countries are working together to get things done.
I have no truck with this notion that immigrants are to blame for all of the country's problems.
I would like to go back to the private sector at some point.
Jeremy Corbyn is a Brexiteer. This guy has always wanted us to leave the E.U.
Look, I like my music, and I don't have a conventional background for a politician, but I'm pretty conventional in many senses.
We have a commitment to making sure that the U.K. remains a member of the European Union.
I get quite bemused by the comments made about what I wear because, for African people, how you dress is very important.
My dad always made a big thing about having well-cut suits. It's partly a cultural thing, but for him, looking sharp and presenting yourself well was very, very important.
My dad was this pint-sized Nigerian with an oversized personality. My mother is a tall six foot something Irish-English woman. Us walking down the street was quite an unusual sight, when I was growing up.
I don't like being pigeon-holed.
The reason I have been so outspoken on antisemitism is that racism is racism - and my family have been victims of it.
Part of the reason young people are getting involved with gangs, leading to the use of guns and knives, is not the lack of stop and search but the individualistic, consumerist society we live in.
Putting in place the building blocks for the future of our economy is common sense.
Despite Labour's achievements in government, we were too often seen as champions for global capital markets, which worked for bankers but did not seem to be delivering for the rest of Britain.
My stock answer when people ask 'Are you Britain's Barack Obama?' is 'I'm quite happy being Streatham's Chuka Umunna,' and I really mean that.
If the tax loop holes that allow tax avoidance were shut down, it would go some way to sorting out our finances, would it not?
I spent many hours slaving away, day and night, bleary eyed, on multi-million pound takeovers, mergers and acquisitions, and the rest. It could sound glamorous (especially when it involved overseas travel) but often it wasn't partly because, as a lawyer, you were not the one calling the shots.
Having common European standards has not only boosted prosperity here and across the continent, it is undoubtedly the best way of managing the challenges posed by globalisation.
My father was a rags-to-riches businessman who came over in the Sixties with no money. On my mother's side, I am the grandson of a High Court judge and celebrated intelligence officer, so it's quite an unusual combination.
I wasn't born into one of the two main parties, but both my parents had a strong sense of social justice.
In 2016, we all thought Remain would hopefully win.
My father had hammered into me, you want to look after your family, you want a nice house, and you want to be able to enjoy yourself, and you have to work very hard for those things. Don't think the world is going to come to you.
There is a danger in believing your own hype.
To be concerned about immigration and the economy is not racist, but I do think there is a virus of racism that runs through Ukip.
Brexit is not going to solve the causes of Brexit.
I wasn't one of those people who had some grand plan to become Prime Minister. I'm a normal person. When I was being foolish in my twenties, when I was at university, I wasn't thinking I was going to become an MP.
We are pro-West, and we are not anti-liberal.
Too often, politicians fail to relate what they advocate to the kind of society they want to build, or they dress up policy in rhetoric which belies their actual intention. Meanwhile Joe Public is left wondering what on earth this bunch are all about and how their vision of a good society differs from that of the other lot.
It was a Labour prime minister who appointed the first black male and female cabinet ministers.
Future prosperity will be built on private sector growth.
I've had a lot of good media and the Obama comparison has definitely been part of the reason for some of that.
I think the first person to call me 'Britain's Obama' was Martin Bright at the New Statesman. Harriet Harman made the comparison once at a conference; it was very flattering but it made me cringe slightly.
Undoubtedly Obama's multi-ethnic heritage is part of his appeal. There is something in his background that we can all relate to and grab hold of.
I worked in the Square Mile for three and half years at an international City law firm.
