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Miatta Fahnbulleh

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The Right Honourable
Miatta Fahnbulleh
MP
Image
Official portrait, 2026
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 July 2026
Prime MinisterAndy Burnham
Preceded byEd Miliband
Junior ministerial offices
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Devolution, Faith and Communities
In office
6 September 2025 – 12 May 2026
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byJim McMahon (English Devolution)
The Lord Khan of Burnley (Faith and Communities)
Succeeded byNesil Caliskan (Devolution and Communities)
The Lord Lemos (Faith)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Consumers
In office
9 July 2024 – 6 September 2025
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byAmanda Solloway
Succeeded byMartin McCluskey
Member of Parliament
for Peckham
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byHarriet Harman
Majority15,228 (39.3%)
Personal details
BornMiatta Nema Fahnbulleh
(1979-09-29) 29 September 1979 (age 47)
Liberia
PartyLabour Co-op
SpouseGraham
Relations
Children3
Parent
EducationLincoln College, Oxford (BA)
London School of Economics (MA, PhD)
Websitemiattafahnbulleh.org

Miatta Nema Fahnbulleh (born 29 September 1979)[1] is a British-Liberian politician and economist who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2026. As a member of the Labour and Co-operative Party, she was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Peckham in the 2024 general election. She is considered to belong to the soft left of the Labour Party.[2]

Fahnbulleh previously served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from 2025 to 2026.[3]

In her tenure as Energy Secretary, she has approved licenses for drilling gas at Jackdaw gas field.

Early life and education

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Fahnbulleh was born on 29 September 1979 in Liberia.[4] She is a daughter of Henry Boimah Fahnbulleh,[5] a former Foreign Minister of Liberia;[6][7] her mother is from Sierra Leone.[4] She was named after her aunt, the singer Miatta Fahnbulleh.[8] She has a brother, Gamal.[4] At the onset of the First Liberian Civil War in 1986 the family fled to England, where they applied for asylum.[9]

Fahnbulleh attended Beechwood Sacred Heart School, an independent school in Tunbridge Wells.[9] After studying philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, she graduated from the University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 2000.[10] She obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in economic development in 2005 from the London School of Economics.[10][9][11] Fahnbulleh wrote her thesis on the adoption of and success of industrial policy in Ghana and Kenya.[11]

Early career

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Fahnbulleh was the Head of Cities in the policy unit at the Cabinet Office from 2011 to 2013; the director of policy and research at the IPPR from December 2016 to November 2017; and the Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation between November 2017 and December 2023.[9][12][13] She was also a Policy Fellow at the think tank Labour Together.[14]

On 22 May 2022, Fahnbulleh was a recipient of the MotheRED grant, which provides funding for mothers to stand as parliamentary candidates for the Labour Party.[15] In September 2022, Fahnbulleh announced that she was standing to be the prospective parliamentary candidate in Camberwell and Peckham at the next general election.[16] On 19 November 2022, she was selected by local Labour Party members as the candidate to succeed Harriet Harman, who stood down after 40 years.[17][18]

While still a Parliamentary candidate, in June 2024 the New Statesman named Fahnbulleh 47th in The Left Power List 2024, the magazine's "guide to the 50 most influential people in progressive politics", describing her as "a natural candidate to join the front bench".[19]

Fahnbulleh has been a regular panellist on the BBC television programme Question Time.[20]

Parliamentary career

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In the 2024 general election, Fahnbulleh was elected in a new seat called Peckham, with a lower share of the vote than Labour had had in 2019 in Camberwell and Peckham.[21] On 9 July 2024, she was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Consumers.[22] In the 2025 cabinet reshuffle, she became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Devolution, Faith and Communities.[23]

In May 2026, Fahnbulleh resigned as a minister in support of calls for Keir Starmer to step down as Prime Minister following the 2026 UK local elections.[24][25] In July 2026 she was appointed Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero under Andy Burnham.[26]

In October 2026, Fahnbulleh approved drilling for gas in the Jackdaw gas field. Production will begin at the beginning of the month. She is yet to decide whether to grant licenses for oil production at Rosebank oil and gas field.[27] Subsequently, she was criticised by Lindsay Hoyle for failing to announce the decision in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Hoyle described the failure as "shameful."[28]

Political views

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Fahnbulleh is a member of the Labour and Co-operative parties.[29] Ideologically, she is considered to belong to the soft left of the Labour Party. A left-wing economist, she has described herself as a heterodox economist and has advocated for change to the economic system.[30][31]She has campaigned for urgent action on the climate crisis but in October 2026 she announced approval for the Jackdaw gas field.[32]

Following her appointment as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero in July 2026, environmental organizations like Friends of the Earth have called on Fahnbulleh to limit fossil fuel expansions and focus on renewables.[33]

Personal life

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Fahnbulleh is married and has three children.[15][8]

Honours

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On 21 July 2026 Fahnbulleh was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council, entitling her to the honorific style The Right Honourable for life.[34]

References

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  1. ↑ "Miatta FAHNBULLEH personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
  2. ↑ "Burnham's people: MPs and advisers who could be in line for a job if he gains power". BBC News. 19 June 2026. Retrieved 8 September 2026.
  3. ↑ "Ministerial appointments: September 2025". GOV.UK. 6 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Fahnbulleh, Gamal (22 October 2020). "What does it mean to be black and British?". Sky News Daily. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  5. ↑ Jr, Edwin Genoway (8 July 2024). "Liberian-born Miatta Fahnbulleh Elected To British Parliament". FrontPageAfrica. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  6. ↑ "6 The Movement for Justice in Africa and Democratisation in Liberia from Revolutionary Movements in Africa: An Untold Story on JSTOR". www.jstor.org. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  7. ↑ Eaton, George (7 April 2018). "New Economics Foundation head Miatta Fahnbulleh on how to replace the UK's broken economic model". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  8. 1 2 Partington, Richard (7 May 2024). "'Labour will surpass your expectations': the leftwing thinktank boss standing on Starmer's agenda". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Foster, Dawn (31 October 2017). "Miatta Fahnbulleh: 'People's tolerance for an unfair economic model has hit a buffer'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Miatta Fahnbulleh". Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  11. 1 2 "The Elusive Quest for Industrialisation in Africa: A Comparative Study of Ghana and Kenya, c1950-2000". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  12. ↑ "New Economics Foundation appoints Dr Danny Sriskandarajah as new Chief Exec". New Economics Foundation (Press release). Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  13. ↑ Jeraj, Samir (16 February 2022). "Miatta Fahnbulleh: Skill up to save the planet". New Statesman.
  14. ↑ "Who we are". Labour Together. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  15. 1 2 Creasy, Stella (22 May 2022). "The first 18 mothers who will receive a MotheRED grant to stand for selection". LabourList. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  16. ↑ Neame, Katie (23 September 2022). "Camberwell and Peckham's next Labour candidate – runners and riders". LabourList. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  17. ↑ Russell, Herbie (19 November 2022). "Miatta Fahnbulleh is set to be Labour candidate for Camberwell and Peckham". Southwark News. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  18. ↑ Elgot, Jessica (7 December 2021). "Harriet Harman to step down after 40 years in parliament". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  19. ↑ "The Left Power List 2024". New Statesman. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  20. ↑ Griffiths, Robbie (6 July 2024). "Meet the Starmtroopers – the bright young MPs set to shine in Labour's new era". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  21. ↑ "Peckham – General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "Starmer gives government jobs to brand new MPs". 9 July 2024.
  23. ↑ Calkin, Sarah (30 September 2025). "Devo minister: 'We're too fiscally centralised'". Local Government Chronicle.
  24. ↑ "Peckham MP Miatta Fahnbulleh resigns as minister". BBC News. 12 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "Read all the ministers' resignation letters in full". 12 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Industry urges new Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh to back homegrown energy over imports". UK Offshore Energies Association. 21 July 2026.
  27. ↑ "Burnham defends Jackdaw decision as Badenoch urges PM to overturn ban on new oil and gas licences". BBC News. 21 October 2026. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
  28. ↑ www.express.co.uk https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2259200/speak-row-miatta-fahnbulleh-jackdaw-approval. Retrieved 22 October 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ↑ Firth, Robert (26 June 2024). "The South London area getting its first new MP in 40 years but they don't know who they can trust". MyLondon. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  30. ↑ Church, Sophie (6 June 2024). "Miatta Fahnbulleh: 'I'm going to be trying to push us to go further'". PoliticsHome: The House. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  31. ↑ Russell, Herbie (2 June 2024). "Miatta Fanhbulleh: Who is Peckham's new Labour candidate and what does she stand for?". Southwark News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  32. ↑ Savage, Michael (7 July 2024). "Big brains and glittering careers: five fresh Labour MPs to watch". The Observer. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  33. ↑ "Miatta Fahnbulleh appointed as new Energy Secretary". Friends of the Earth. 21 July 2026.
  34. ↑ "Miatta Fahbulleh sworn as Privy Counsellor" (PDF). privycouncil.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
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