Political Thinking with Nick Robinson
May 15, 2026 · 49 min · 29 segments
The former Communities Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, who was the first Minister to resign from Keir Starmer's government after the elections, discusses reaching breaking point, who should lead Labour…
Miatta FahnbullehGuest
Nick RobinsonHost
Hugely big week, not just for the country and for the Labour Party, but for you.
When you make a decision less than two years after becoming an MP, already a minister, to throw that up, how difficult a decision is it? And was it something that you had to ask family, friends, "Am I mad or is this the right thing to do?"
Yeah, look, it is a tough, tough decision, and it's a really personal one.
You know, that set of colleagues, you're all trying to work together to do, uh, something for the country.
And at that point when you walk away, you are walking away from that team.
Um, and, you know, to walk away in order to criticize the boss, uh, that's quite a thing to do.
Uh, I sort of made sure I talked to my husband about it, and he was like, "Really? You really wanna do this?" And I was like, "I, I think it's the thing I have to do." I talked to my best friend about it.
It was my constituents sent a really clear message, and I felt I needed to communicate that message.
But it was also, you know, I've had the pleasure of sort of being round the table with the Prime Minister, and I didn't think I could look him in the eye, um, be part of that team if I didn't believe he was the right person to be leading that team.
Hugely big week, not just for the country and for the Labour Party, but for you.
When you make a decision less than two years after becoming an MP, already a minister, to throw that up, how difficult a decision is it? And was it something that you had to ask family, friends, "Am I mad or is this the right thing to do?"
Yeah, look, it is a tough, tough decision, and it's a really personal one.
You know, that set of colleagues, you're all trying to work together to do, uh, something for the country.
And at that point when you walk away, you are walking away from that team.
Um, and, you know, to walk away in order to criticize the boss, uh, that's quite a thing to do.
Uh, I sort of made sure I talked to my husband about it, and he was like, "Really? You really wanna do this?" And I was like, "I, I think it's the thing I have to do." I talked to my best friend about it.
It was my constituents sent a really clear message, and I felt I needed to communicate that message.
But it was also, you know, I've had the pleasure of sort of being round the table with the Prime Minister, and I didn't think I could look him in the eye, um, be part of that team if I didn't believe he was the right person to be leading that team.
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