IT is undoubtedly a blow to the Labour Party that Chuka Umunna has withdrawn from the leadership contest so soon after throwing his hat in the ring.
By the time 2020 comes around, David Cameron will have stepped down and the Conservative Party will have a new leader, with new impetus. 
Labour will need a leader without ties to the old guard and Umunna, 36, had clear potential to be that fresh face. So did Dan Jarvis but he was an early withdrawal from the race too. The pair were probably the figures the Tories feared most but they are already out of contention.
Mr Umunna has cited his discomfort with the level of pressure and scrutiny that came with being a leadership candidate but, interestingly, he hasn’t ruled out another leadership bid in the future. 
It is all rather odd. Does he really think the pressure and scrutiny might somehow subside the next time the opportunity comes round? And how brightly does he imagine the spotlight might shine should he become prime minister one day?
Perhaps Mr Umunna and Mr Jarvis understand the cyclical nature of politics and that it is likely to be the election after next before Labour has its best chance of reclaiming power.
The problem for the party in the meantime is that the left-overs on offer do not feature a stand-out candidate. 
Yvette Cooper appears to be favourite but will the wife of Ed Balls, with all the connections back to the Gordon Brown era, really be the right person to take on a new Tory leader five years down the line?
Whatever choice is made, surely the Labour Party has to learn the lessons of history and see that it needs to find a leader who is going to appeal to the centre ground in a way that Ed Miliband clearly failed to master.