Election 2024: Arts leaders react as Thangam Debbonaire loses seat to Greens

Arts leaders have responded to Thangam Debbonaire’s failure to win her Bristol constituency, as the former professional cellist’s hope of becoming culture secretary hangs in the balance.

Nottingham Playhouse chief executive Stephanie Sirr called it "very sad news", while Derby Theatre artistic director and chief executive Sarah Brigham reflected: "Whatever your politics this is a shame.

"Thangam Debbonaire would have been the first culture minister who had actually worked in culture. I hope the new government chooses our next culture minister wisely."

In Bristol itself, arts organisations lamented her loss to government.

Watershed chief executive Clare Reddington said Debbonaire would have made a "bloody amazing" cabinet minister, while Tom Morris, artistic director of Bristol Old Vic from 2009 to 2022, called on Labour to consider making Debbonaire a Lord to facilitate her "unqualified passion for the importance of excellence in all art forms".

He told The Stage: "Debbonaire’s presence in every conversation she joined raised the ceiling of aspiration for all of us. She already has a legacy in the Labour Party’s understanding of culture and the arts and I very much hope she can continue to contribute to it in the future.

"If there was ever a good use of the House of Lords, it would be to allow her to serve in the cabinet as a Baroness."

Debbonaire’s loss for Labour in the Bristol Central seat has thrown her chances of directing and implementing arts policy into question – despite her experience as a professional cellist winning her approval among the creative industries.

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer gained 24,539 votes to Debbonaire’s 14,132 in a city that has recently weathered scarring arts cuts.

Bristol Central experienced an average decrease in arts funding of 61% between 2017 and 2022, according to research by trade union Equity. 

Charlotte Geeves, executive director at Bristol Old Vic, had previously told the Guardian it would be "amazing" to see "an artist herself" become culture minister.

Conductor Ashley Beauchamp, who works with Garsington Opera and Glyndebourne Youth Opera Company, said he had felt the "tantalising hope of nearly getting a culture secretary who genuinely cared for culture", while director Dean Johnson said: "Thangam Debbonaire seemed incredibly passionate about the arts [...] I hope Starmer can find a similarly emboldened candidate."

In order for Debbonaire to enter newly-elected prime minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet, she would have to be raised to the House of Lords.

In November 2023, Rishi Sunak appointed David Cameron as foreign secretary, making him Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton to accommodate the role.

But Starmer has made constitutional reform a key plank of his platform, with Labour eyeing up an eventual replacement of the House of Lords in favour of another, more modern legislative body.

The Stage has contacted Debbonaire for comment.