Andy Burnham has replaced Ed Miliband as Energy Secretary in his first cabinet reshuffle after becoming Prime Minister, appointing first-term Labour MP Miatta Fahnbulleh to the role.
Mr Miliband, who frequently clashed with the North Sea sector over his opposition to new oil and gas licences and support for the windfall tax, has instead been appointed Foreign Secretary.
Before entering Parliament, Ms Fahnbulleh was chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, where she advocated for a rapid net zero transition. More recently, on Nick Robinson’s Political Thinking podcast, she accused Green Party leader Zack Polanski of stealing her vision for a greener, fairer economy.
In his first speech outside Downing Street, Mr Burnham said: “I am acutely conscious that I am the sixth person in the last 10 years to walk up this street, the seventh prime minister since 2016, making this a moment for reflection and new resolution.
“It requires my generation of politicians to raise our game and rise to the new challenge.
“Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again.”
He also pledged “a new economic model”, adding: “We will change politics, to make it more collaborative, more about problem solving than point-scoring, and will take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land, so that they can do more, and in doing more, build a new economy where we put life’s essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable to you again, reindustrialising Britain using public procurement to back British industry.”
More of the same?
His team has been briefing that the new PM will be more favourable towards North Sea oil and gas, but his pick for Energy Secretary suggests we will see more of the same.
Born in Liberia, Fahnbulleh’s family came to the UK after fleeing a civil war in the West African country. She holds a PhD in economic development from the London School of Economics, and served as a senior economic advisor to Angela Rayner and Miliband during the 2024 election campaign.
A longstanding advocate for greater action on climate change, Fahnbulleh has called for more investment in initiatives to cut emissions and in local industrial strategies to create green jobs in areas like retrofitting and renewable energy.
In 2019, Fahnbulleh called for a “global Green New Deal” which would see a “massive mobilisation of resources to decarbonise and at the same time create millions of jobs and lift living standards”.
“The goal should be net-zero carbon emissions within ten to 15 years, which will require governments to make significant investments in green infrastructure, such as onshore and offshore wind farms and smart energy grids; in new technologies such as carbon capture and storage; and in training workers to develop the skills they will need for the jobs a green economy will create, such as installing insulation, maintaining renewable energy systems, and reconditioning and refurbishing used goods,” she wrote.
Posting on X, Fahnbulleh said it was an “incredible honour” to be appointed as UK energy secretary.
'Back the North Sea'
Russell Borthwick, Chief Executive, Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, urged the new prime minister to unlock the huge economic potential of the North Sea.
“We look forward to working with the new Prime Minister and his government to drive growth, create jobs and unleash greater productivity – enabling the North-east of Scotland to be a powerhouse region driving forward the UK economy," he said.
“When it comes to our energy sector, there is huge remaining potential in the North Sea. But this future is only achievable with a fresh approach - clearing the regulatory logjam by consenting Jackdaw and Rosebank, replacing the windfall tax with the new Oil and Gas Revenue Levy and taking a more pragmatic approach on issuing new licences.
“On renewables and new energy, we need to ensure that we’re managing the transition carefully – consenting more projects, building out transmission infrastructure with pace and ensuring that new technologies are supported so Britain can lead a global revolution, rather than playing catch up.
“From high-value manufacturing, to supply chain services, to engineering excellence, our region can support that exciting new chapter – but only if we’re not held back by overregulation and punitive taxation.”