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Miatta Fahnbulleh (politician)

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Miatta Fahnbulleh
MP
Official portrait, 2024
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Consumers
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byAmanda Solloway
Member of Parliament
for Peckham
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byConstituency restablished
Majority15,228 (39.3%)
Personal details
Born
Miatta Nema Fahnbulleh

(1979-09-29) 29 September 1979 (age 45)
Liberia
Nationality
  • Liberian
  • British
Political partyLabour Co-op
SpouseGraham
RelationsGamal Fahnbulleh (brother) Miatta Fahnbulleh (aunt)
Children3
Alma materLincoln College, Oxford (BA)
London School of Economics (MA, PhD)
ProfessionDevelopmental economist
Websitemiattafahnbulleh.org

Miatta Nema Fahnbulleh (born 29 September 1979)[1] is a British politician and economist. A member of Labour Co-op, she was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Peckham in the 2024 general election. Fahnbulleh is currently serving as a junior minister in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, appointed by Keir Starmer. She is considered to belong to the soft left of the Labour Party.

Early life and education

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Fahnbulleh was born in Liberia to a Liberian father and a Sierra Leonean mother and has a brother, Gamal.[2] The family fled at the onset of the First Liberian Civil War in 1986 to the UK where they applied for asylum.[3]

Fahnbulleh attended Beechwood Sacred Heart School, an independent school in Tunbridge Wells.[3] After studying at Lincoln College, Oxford, she graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy, politics and economics and obtained a PhD degree in Economic Development in 2005 from the London School of Economics.[4][3][5] Fahnbulleh wrote her thesis on the adoption of and success of industrial policy in Ghana and Kenya.[5]

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.[3][6][7] She was also a Policy Fellow at the think tank Labour Together.[8]

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.[9] In September 2022, Fahnbulleh announced that she was standing to be the prospective parliamentary candidate in Camberwell and Peckham at the next general election.[10] 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 as an MP.[11][12][13]

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".[14]

Fahnbulleh has been a regular panellist on the BBC television programme Question Time.[15]

Parliamentary career

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In the 2024 general election, she was elected in Peckham with a reduced majority.[16] On 9 July 2024, Fahnbulleh was appointed as a junior minister (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State) in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.[17][18]

Political views

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Fahnbulleh is a member of the Labour and Co-operative parties.[19] Ideologically, she is considered to belong to the soft left of the Labour Party. She has campaigned for urgent action on the climate crisis.[20] A left-wing economist, she has described herself as a heterodox economist and has advocated for change to the economic system.[21][22]

Personal life

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Fahnbulleh is married to Graham and has three children.[9][23][24] Her aunt is the singer Miatta Fahnbulleh, with whom she shares a name.[24]

References

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  1. ^ "Miatta Nema FAHNBULLEH – Personal Appointments (Free information from Companies House)".
  2. ^ "Sky News Daily – What does it mean to be black and British?".
  3. ^ a b c d 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.
  4. ^ "Miatta Fahnbulleh". Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  5. ^ a b "The Elusive Quest for Industrialisation in Africa: A Comparative Study of Ghana and Kenya, c1950-2000". Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  6. ^ "New Economics Foundation appoints Dr Danny Sriskandarajah as new Chief Exec". New Economics Foundation (Press release). Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  7. ^ Jeraj, Samir (16 February 2022). "Miatta Fahnbulleh: Skill up to save the planet". New Statesman.
  8. ^ "Who we are". Labour Together. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b Creasy, Stella (22 May 2022). "The first 18 mothers who will receive a MotheRED grant to stand for selection". LabourList. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  10. ^ Neame, Katie (23 September 2022). "Camberwell and Peckham's next Labour candidate – runners and riders". LabourList. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  11. ^ Russell, Herbie (19 November 2022). "Miatta Fahnbulleh is set to be Labour candidate for Camberwell and Peckham". Southwark News. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  12. ^ Miatta Fahnbulleh [@Miatsf] (19 November 2022). "I'm absolutely elated to have been selected as Labour's parliamentary candidate for Camberwell & Peckham! Thank you to local party members, & all those who supported me because they want this community to have a national voice fighting for the big ideas that change our lives" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Elgot, Jessica (7 December 2021). "Harriet Harman to step down after 40 years in parliament". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  14. ^ "The Left Power List 2024". New Statesman. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "Peckham – General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Starmer gives government jobs to brand new MPs". 9 July 2024 – via bbc.co.uk.
  18. ^ "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Miatta Fahnbulleh MP" – via gov.uk.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ Savage, Michael (7 July 2024). "Big brains and glittering careers: five fresh Labour MPs to watch". The Observer. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ Eaton, George (7 April 2018). "New Economics Foundation head Miatta Fahnbulleh on how to replace the UK's broken economic model". New Statesman. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  24. ^ a b 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.
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