Abena Oppong-Asare | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister | |
| Assumed office 11 September 2025 Serving with Jon Pearce andCatherine Fookes | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Chris Ward Liz Twist |
| Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office | |
| In office 9 July 2024 – 6 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Alex Burghart |
| Succeeded by | Chris Ward Satvir Kaur |
| Member of Parliament forErith and Thamesmead | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Teresa Pearce |
| Majority | 16,302 (40.4%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Abena Oppong-Asare[1] (1983-02-08)8 February 1983 (age 43) |
| Party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of Kent (BA,MA) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | Official website |
Abena Oppong-Asare (born 8 February 1983)[1] is a BritishLabour Party politician who has served as theMember of Parliament (MP) forErith and Thamesmead since2019.[2] In September 2025, Oppong-Asare was appointedParliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister,Keir Starmer.[3] She was previously aParliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office from July 2024 to September 2025.[4] Oppong-Asare andBell Ribeiro-Addy, both elected in the 2019 general election, are the first femaleBritish Ghanaian MPs.[5][6]
She was appointed to theOfficial Opposition frontbench in 2020, becomingShadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, and laterShadow Minister for Women's Health and Mental Health.[7]
Oppong-Asare is ofGhanaian descent[5] and studied Politics with International Relations at theUniversity of Kent, where she also attained a master's degree in International Law with International Relations. Since her election to Parliament she has maintained a working relationship with the University, which is attended by many of her constituents.[8]
She is the chair of Labour Women's Network. From 2014 to 2018, she was a Labour Party Councillor for Erith ward onBexley Council, serving as Deputy Leader of the opposition Labour Group from 2014 to 2016 and acted as the spokesperson on education.[9] She has also previously served as aparliamentary assistant and constituency liaison officer, and has advised the shadow minister for Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls.[10] Prior to her election, Oppong-Asare worked at the Greater London Authority, supporting GLA members to effectively represent the people of London. During this time, she led community engagement following theGrenfell Tower fire.
In 2019, she ran to be the Labourprospective parliamentary candidate inErith and Thamesmead when the incumbent MPTeresa Pearce announced she would stand down at the next election.
In 2020, she released a report, Leaving Nobody Behind in Erith and Thamesmead, examining the impact of the pandemic on key groups in her constituency, including disabled people, people from an ethnic minority background, women, young people and those from a lower socio-economic background. The report was widely praised upon publication and picked up by local and national media outlets.
On 14 January 2020 she was announced as theParliamentary Private Secretary to the newShadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,Luke Pollard.[11]
On 16 April 2020, Oppong-Asare was announced as theParliamentary Private Secretary to the newly appointedShadow Chancellor of the Exchequer,Anneliese Dodds.[12]
On 16 October 2020, Oppong-Asare was promoted toShadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, replacingWes Streeting, who was moved to the position of Shadow Minister for Schools following resignations the previous day relating to theCovert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill.[13]
In November 2021, the political monitoring organisation Vuelio identified Oppong-Asare as amongst the top three newly-elected MPs who tabled the most Parliamentary Questions that session.[14] In June 2021, PR firm Edelman included her in their list of "ones to watch" from the 2019 intake.[citation needed]
In 2022, Oppong-Asare was included in the Women in Westminster 100 list to mark International Women's Day.[15]
Each year, Oppong-Asare holds a political and campaigning Summer School for local young people in which she invites high-profile speakers to deliver training and workshops designed at encouraging political engagement from those often under-represented.[16]
In the2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle she was appointed Shadow Minister for Women's Health and Mental Health.[17]
Following the2024 United Kingdom general election, she was appointed asParliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, where she served from July 2024 to September 2025.[18] She led on national security and resilience as well as cross-departmental delivery alongside the thenChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster,Pat McFadden.
In September 2025, Oppong-Asare was appointedParliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.[3]
Oppong-Asare is a member of theFabian Society and of theLabour Women's Network (of which she is a Patron). Locally, she is Club Patron ofErith Town Football Club, and also a Patron ofGreenwich and Bexley Community Hospice.[19]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forErith and Thamesmead 2019–present | Incumbent |
