Michael Shanks MP
Biography
Michael Shanks was appointed Minister for Energy in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 6 September 2025.
He was previously Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero from 9 July 2024 to 6 September 2025.
He was elected as the MP for Rutherglen in October 2023.
Education
Michael graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in history and politics. He then studied for a PGDE at Glasgow.
Political career
Michael served as the Shadow Minister of State for Scotland from October 2023 to May 2024.
Career outside politics
Michael was a secondary school teacher and previously worked in the third sector on reducing offending. He ran a charity for disabled children for 15 years and is a trustee of 3 other charitable organisations.
Minister of State (Minister for Energy)
The minister is responsible for:
- Clean Power 2030
- Great British Energy
- renewables and biomass
- energy systems, the grid and networks
- energy market reform, including REMA and Reformed National Pricing
- energy security, resilience and preparedness
- North Sea transition
- oil and gas refineries
- carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS)
- greenhouse gas removals (GGRs)
- hydrogen
- Powering AI
- Energy Independence Bill