-Represents Peckham District
Miatta N. Fahnbulleh, daughter of veteran Liberian politician Dr. H. Boima Fahnbulleh, Jr., has made history by being elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom (UK).
As a Liberian-British national, Fahnbulleh will now represent the people of Peckham in south-east London, taking over from former Labour MP Harriet Harman after securing 22,813 votes in the safe Labour seat.
In her victory speech, Fahnbulleh expressed gratitude to the people of Peckham and pledged to work tirelessly to repay their trust. She promised to be deeply rooted in the community, advocating for their needs and concerns.
Her words: “Thank you to the people of Peckham. You have placed your trust in me and I will work day and night to repay that faith. I promise to be rooted in this community and to fight for you. I will be your loudest voice, your fiercest defender, and your proudest champion and together we will rise.”
Fahnbulleh’s campaign focused on local economic revitalization, housing issues, and addressing crime and anti-social behavior. She also committed to establishing a constituency office that would be accessible to her constituents for feedback and recommendations.
Prior to her election, Fahnbulleh served as Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation, a left-wing economic think tank. At 44 years old, she is considered a rising star within the Labour party, having worked closely with the shadow treasury in recent months.
Acknowledging the trailblazing legacy of her predecessor Harriet Harman, Fahnbulleh expressed pride in following in her footsteps and vowed to continue advocating for the people of Peckham.
On 22 May 2022, Fahnbulleh was a recipient of the MotheREDgrant, which provides funding for mothers to stand as parliamentary candidates for the Labour Party. In September 2022, Fahnbulleh announced that she was standing to be the prospective parliamentary candidate in Camberwell and Peckham at the next general election. On 19 November 2022, she was selected by local Labour Party members as the candidate.
Peckham
Peckham is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-east of Charing Cross. “Peckham” is a Saxon place name meaning the village of the River Peck, a small stream that ran through the district until it was enclosed in 1823. Archaeological evidence indicates earlier Roman occupation in the area, although the name of this settlement is lost. The Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names (1991, 1998) gives the origin as from the Old English *pēac and hām meaning ‘homestead by a peak or hill’. The name of the river is a back-formation from the name of the village. Peckham Rye is from Old English rīth, stream.
Peckham is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the UK. Peckham has never been an administrative district, or a single ecclesiastical parish in its own right, but it developed a strong sense of identity in the 19th century when Rye Lane was one of the most important shopping streets in south London. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
The area known as Peckham covers a large area of south London and takes in many diverse communities. The British Nigerian community forms a sizeable component of the population of the area, with the area being dubbed “Little Lagos” as a result.
