Claire Coutinho

The subject of this article is standing for re-election to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on 4 July, and has not been an incumbent MP since Parliament was dissolved on 30 May. Some parts of this article may be out of date during this period. Please feel free to improve this article (but note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed) or discuss changes on the talk page.

The Right Honourable Claire Coutinho MP
Official portrait, 2019
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 August 2023
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Grant Shapps
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing
In office 28 October 2022 – 31 August 2023
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Kelly Tolhurst
Succeeded by	David Johnston
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People, Health and Work
In office 21 September 2022 – 28 October 2022
Prime Minister	Liz Truss
Preceded by	Chloe Smith
Succeeded by	Tom Pursglove
Member of Parliament for East Surrey
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 December 2019
Preceded by	Sam Gyimah
Majority	24,040 (40.3%)
Personal details
Born	Claire Coryl Julia Coutinho (1985-07-08) 8 July 1985 (age 38) London, England
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Exeter College, Oxford
Website	Official website

Claire Coryl Julia Coutinho (born 8 July 1985) is a British politician and former investment banker who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since August 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Surrey since the 2019 general election. Prior to her current role, she served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing from October 2022 to August 2023 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People from September to October 2022. She has been described as a close ally of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and as an ardent supporter of Brexit.

After graduating in mathematics and philosophy from Exeter College, Oxford, Coutinho worked as an associate at the investment bank Merrill Lynch for nearly four years, and co-founded, with food writer Mina Holland, a literary-themed events company called The Novel Diner. She also worked the centre-right think tank Centre for Social Justice and at the industry group Housing and Finance Institute created by Natalie Elphicke, and for accounting firm KPMG as a corporate responsibility manager. She left KPMG to become a special adviser at HM Treasury; initially working for Julian Smith, she then became an aide to Rishi Sunak.