The great Net Zero showdown

At first glance, the new Prime Minister’s choice of Miatta Fahnbulleh as energy secretary would appear to suggest more of the same: more Net Zero, less oil and gas. Fahnbulleh was formerly a junior minister in Ed Miliband’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, and her elevation to the top job might appear a like-for-like substitution — a sort of Miliband-lite. However, that understates the import of her promotion. Energy will be a vital component of Andy Burnham’s premiership. Net Zero has become a defining element of Labour’s offering. Consumers and businesses desperately want energy bills to come down. Meanwhile, Fahnbulleh is anything but an underling. A child refugee from war-torn Liberia, she made her way to Oxford and proceeded to a doctorate at the London School of Economics.