Miatta Fahnbulleh is the Labour (Co-op) MP for Peckham, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Fahnbulleh received 22,813 votes (58.8%). The Green Party candidate, Claire Sheppard, placed second with 7,585 votes (19.6%), while the Liberal Democrats polled 2,724 votes (7.0%). Fahnbulleh was elected with a majority of 15,228.

The Peckham constituency is located in the London Borough of Southwark. It was newly created ahead of the 2024 election, largely replacing the former Camberwell and Peckham constituency.

The predecessor seat, Camberwell and Peckham, was represented by Harriet Harman of the Labour Party from 1982 until she stood down in 2024.

Political Career

Fahnbulleh currently serves as secretary of state for energy security and net zero. Fahnbulleh was appointed to this role in July 2026, following the Labour leadership contest and Andy Burnham’s elevation as prime minister.

Under Keir Starmer, Fahnbulleh served as parliamentary under-secretary of state for devolution, faith and communities in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (2025-2026), and parliamentary under-secretary of state for energy consumers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (2024-2025).

In May 2026, Fahnbulleh resigned as parliamentary under-secretary of state for devolution, faith and communities and called for Starmer to resign as prime minister. The move followed the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru. In resigning, Fahnbulleh joined a rebellion of around 100 Labour MPs calling for Starmer’s departure.

Fahnbulleh was the first minister to resign following the elections as calls for Starmer to quit grew.

In her letter of resignation, Fahnbulleh said the government had “not acted with the vision, pace and ambition that our mandate for change demands of us.”

She added: “Nor have we governed as a Labour Party clear about our values and strong in our convictions. Mistakes such as the winter fuel payment and cuts to the support provided to disabled people have left too many of my constituents doubting our mission.

“And the message on the doorstep was clear: you, prime minister, have lost the trust and confidence of the public.”

Fahnbulleh delivered her maiden speech on 22 July 2024 in a debate on the economy, welfare and public services.

In it, she said: “The need for change has never been so great. Today, as we debate the economy and all the uncertainties it brings, there is one thing I know for certain: people in Peckham are struggling. Their pay packets have flatlined for too long, with their safety net cut to shreds. Over a third of them cannot afford day-to-day essentials, and too many of our children now live in poverty.”

She added: “The NHS, social housing from the rubble of war, and the minimum wage – we have always been the party of big ideas. We have done it before at moments of crisis, and now we must do it again…

“As we find solutions to the challenges in front of us, I, as a proud Labour and Co-operative MP, hope that we will draw inspiration from the deep traditions of our movement – the enduring force of co-operation, putting power back in local hands, creating businesses run by local people for local people, trusting communities like Peckham to decide their own future and giving them ownership and a stake in their economy – so that we can deliver the change for which my constituents and constituents across the country have given us a mandate.”

During the 2024 general election campaign, Fahnbulleh was described as a “rising intellectual star in Labour’s ranks”. She served as an economics adviser to Ed Miliband and Anegla Rayner before the 2024 election.

Before entering parliament, Fahnbulleh served as chief executive of the New Economics Foundation (NEF) think tank from 2017 to 2023.

Fahnbulleh also worked as director of policy and research at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

Political Views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Fahnbulleh was one of 117 Labour MPs who nominated Lucy Powell for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Powell, the former leader of the House of Commons, was seen as a candidate representing the party’s “soft left”; she was supported by leading soft left figures including Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham. She secured 117 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), above the 80 required, and went on to win the election – defeating Bridget Phillipson with 54.3% of the vote.

Factional identity and party tradition

SERA: Fahnbulleh has been listed as a member of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA) – a socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. Founded in 1973, SERA is the party’s official environmental campaign group. The organisation campaigns on a wide range of issues, including renewable energy, biodiversity, air quality and the transition to a green economy. SERA describes its member MPs as “champions for the environment”.

Labour Movement for Europe: Fahnbulleh was endorsed by the Labour Movement for Europe (LME) in the 2024 general election. Founded in 1981, LME is a pro-European socialist society affiliated with the Labour Party. It campaigns for a close relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The organisation refers to itself as the “home of the pro-Europeans in the Labour and trade union movement”.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Fahnbulleh voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Assisted dying

Fahnbulleh voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Before Politics

Born in Liberia on 29 September 1979, Fahnbulleh moved with her family to England aged seven, fleeing the First Liberian Civil War. She attended Beechwood Sacred Heart School in Kent.

She studied philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at Lincoln College, University of Oxford, graduating in 2000. She later obtained a master’s degree and a PhD in economic development from the London School of Economics.

Personal Life

Fahnbulleh is married to Graham. She has three children.

She is the daughter of Henry Boimah Fahnbulleh, who served as foreign minister of Liberia from 1981 to 1983.

Her brother is the journalist and newsreader Gamal Fahnbulleh.

Her aunt is the Liberian singer and activist Miatta Fahnbulleh, after whom she is named.

Trivia

Before entering parliament, Fahnbulleh was a regular panellist on the BBC television programme Question Time.