Former Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport Thangam Debbonaire, who lost her Parliamentary seat of Bristol Central to the Green Party’s Carla Denyer in July, has been awarded a peerage, allowing her to sit in the House of Lords.
Debbonaire is one of 38 peerages approved by King Charles III, 30 on the advice of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, six from Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch, and two from Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey.
The December 2024 Political Peerages List, released yesterday, includes a variety of political and non-political figures, each due to their contribution to a specific area of public life.
Notable names on the list include former Downing Street Chief of Staff Sue Gray, former First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones and Dame Anne Marie Rafferty, former President of the Royal College of Nursing, as well as Sheffield City Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, one of the Liberal Democrats’ two nominations.
The awarding of peerages will allow each of the 38 new additions to sit and vote in the House of Lords, the complementary chamber of Parliament to the elected House of Commons.
There were also several other figures with links to the arts and culture industries included alongside Debbonaire, such as former Shadow Minister of Arts & Heritage from 2016 to 2020 Kevin Brennan, former member of the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee Julie Elliot, former Deputy Prime Minister and Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee member the Rt. Hon. Dame Thérèse Coffey PhD, Chair of English Heritage Gerard Lemos, Trustee of the People’s History Museum Kay Carberry CBE, and Sir Brendan Paul Barber, who has sat on the board of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts since 2014.
Confirmed by the House of Lords Appointments Commission and the Prime Minister, all peerages are reviewed and vetted before being sent to King Charles to formally approve the nominations before they are announced.
It is not revealed how many submissions were made to the commission, or how many, if any, were rejected.
By providing these nominees with a peerage and allowing them to sit in the House of Lords, they will have the opportunity to debate and vote on legislation approved by the House of Commons, but due to their unelected nature, do not have the power to prevent legislation passing.
They can, however, delay passed motions for up to two years and push for amendments, with the role of the House of Lords being to review and scrutinise legislation before it is enacted.
Debbonaire and her 37 new colleagues will join the existing 801 members of the House of Lords when officially sworn in, after the Parliamentary winter recess.
Debbonaire’s return to Parliament, this time armed with a peerage, will mark an awaited homecoming for the politician who sought to reclaim her seat in July before being unseated by Carla Denyer.
Whether she will hold any lords positions for the Labour Party is yet to be seen, but the introduction of an additional seven lords with arts and culture experience will only strengthen advocacy within the upper chamber, and may contribute to the sectors’ experiences of the new government’s upcoming legislation.
A full list of the December 2024 Political Peerages is available here
