Chuka Umunna has fuelled rumours that he aims to succeed Jeremy Corbyn by refusing to rule out a fresh bid for the Labour leadership.

In a warning shot to Mr Corbyn, Mr Umunna said ordinary Labour voters are more important than the band of hard-Left activists who made him leader.

And Mr Umunna denied he had ‘flounced out’ of the Shadow Cabinet in protest at Corbyn becoming party leader, explaining that he ‘wanted to take a breather before returning stronger and better’.

The intervention by former Shadow Business Secretary Mr Umunna comes after a series of polls showing Corbyn’s Labour far behind the Tories.

Chuka Umunna with his partner Alice Sullivan arrive for The Andrew Marr Show in London on May 10, 2015

Mr Umunna said: ‘I still want to play a big role in the Labour Party – and in terms of the leadership in the future, I would never say never to doing that again.’

Moderate Mr Umunna, 37, is seen by many Labour insiders as most likely successor to Corbyn if he is forced to step down before the next General Election.

Mr Umunna said Mr Corbyn had to be given a chance to succeed as leader. But he took a thinly veiled swipe at Left-wing supporters of the pro-Corbyn Momentum group accused of trying to take over the Labour Party.

Standing up for ordinary Labour voters should be given higher priority, he argued. ‘It is important Labour MPs do the job that we have representing the 19 million people from whom we derive our mandate – which is the voters,’ he said in an interview with The Voice newspaper.

Although Mr Umunna did not refer to Momentum by name, he is known to be deeply concerned at its growing influence in local Labour parties, including Lambeth in his Streatham constituency in South London.

He said his decision not to serve in Mr Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet was a ‘joint decision’ with the leader, adding: ‘It was wrong to say I flounced out.’

A friend of Mr Umunna said: ‘Chuka believes it will be a disaster for the party if Corbyn’s Left-wing clique take over lock stock and barrel. The millions of people who voted for us in 2015 are not interested in Momentum’s Marxist claptrap.’

Mr Umunna came under fire after he threw his hat in the ring in the 2015 Labour leadership contest, only to pull out, blaming press intrusion.

In a warning shot to Mr Corbyn, Mr Umunna said ordinary Labour voters are more important than the band of hard-Left activists who made him leader

It came 48 hours after he was pictured arriving at a BBC interview, walking had in hand with lawyer girlfriend Alice Sullivan, 31.

Mr Umunna said there was no ‘scandal’ involved, adding: ‘I certainly have nothing to hide.’

The couple’s engagement was announced last October.

Mr Umunna’s impressive pedigree has won him a wide range of political admirers from Labour’s Peter Mandelson to Tory Michael Heseltine.

His father, self-made businessman Bennett Umunna, was killed in a car crash in mysterious circumstances when he returned to his native Nigeria to run for a regional governorship.