This was coupled with Ed Miliband, who has consistently opposed new North Sea oil and gas licenses, being moved from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to Foreign Secretary, leading many to believe his successor would mark a slight shift away from Miliband’s approach to the energy transition.

Instead, Burnham has chosen the continuity candidate, giving Miatta Fahnbulleh, the MP for Peckham and part of the 2024 Labour intake, her first Cabinet position. Fahnbulleh previously worked as Director of Policy and Research at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and later became CEO of the New Economics Foundation, where her work often focused on how to achieve a greener, fairer economy, as well as regional development and economic opportunities arising from the energy transition. As the former Minister for Energy Consumers under Miliband, the appointment reflects Burnham’s desire to continue the Government’s approach to clean power, low-carbon technologies and the UK’s net zero commitments.

Following Burnham’s comments yesterday urging his Cabinet to examine “all possible ways” to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, it’s clear the new Secretary of State’s number one priority will be minimising energy costs for consumers. Speaking to Times Radio yesterday, she said the Government needs to give the British public “respite from the cost-of-living crisis and deal with affordability.”

Like her predecessors, Fahnbulleh will need to find a way of achieving this alongside improving energy security and cutting carbon emissions. Equally, ensuring jobs are protected during the transition will be an essential part of the Department’s work, with Gary Smith, General Secretary of the GMB union coming out to say “it’s high time to put a stop to the current reckless and damaging policy of choosing imports over UK energy production.”

Managing these priorities will not be easy. Earlier this year, we analysedhow mentions of ‘energy cost’ and ‘energy security’ have significantly increased by Members of Parliament over the last six years, and backbenchers will continue to press the new Secretary of State on these two issues.

Organisations looking to engage with DESNZ under the new Secretary of State will need to ensure their arguments continue to focus on not only how their solutions help achieve the Government’s Net Zero goals, but also their objectives on affordability and energy security.