September 2, 2026
Athens, GR 14 C
Expand search form
Blog

Blow to arts as voters oust popular cellist

Blow to arts as voters oust popular cellist

In one of few Labour setbacks last night, voters in Bristol Central unaseated Thangam Debbonaire, who was destined to be Culture Secretary in Keir Starmer’s new government.

Debbonaire, 57, a former orchestral cellist who founded a string quartet in the House of Commons, had held the seat since 2010. She was defeated by the Green candidate by more than 10,000 votes.

Debbonaire’s defeat will be a blow to arts lobyyists who had been bending her ear for months in the hope of achieving a more sympathetic hearing from the new Labour Government.

By way of balance, the Tory Cultury Secretary Lucy Frazer lost her seat to the Liberal Democrats.

The arts are presently unrepresented in the new Parliament

The post Blow to arts as voters oust popular cellist appeared first on Slippedisc.

Previous Article

Ruth Leon recommends… Jean Cocteau’s 135th Birthday

Next Article

Germans appoint Lithuanian GMD

You might be interested in …

Free opera stream: The Real Rigoletto

Free opera stream: The Real Rigoletto

To elevate a jester to a tragic stature comparable to a Macbeth or a Lear is no easy feat. The dramatic essence of Shakespeare runs in the veins of this Rigoletto, although the story is based on the controversial Le roi […]

Bayreuth mezzo dies

Bayreuth mezzo dies

The German dramatic mezzo-soprano Ruth Hesse died yesterday,, aged 87. Hesse, a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1995, sang most summers in Bayrteuth or Salzburg. She made a noted Covent Garden […]