Thangam Debbonaire was Member of Parliament for Bristol West 2015-2024, serving as a Labour Whip and as Shadow Brexit Minister during those turbulent years. From the start of Keir Starmer’s leadership she served in his Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, then Shadow Leader of the House, finally as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. She now writes, does media and provides consultancy primarily for arts creative industries and cultural partnerships.
Thangam was a professional cellist, now amateur, playing regularly with a string quartet. She worked for 26 years tackling violence against women, most recently with male perpetrators.