MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl and Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Thangam Debbonaire MP at the Labour Party Conference 2023. Photo credit: Jonathan Stewart
Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Thangam Debbonaire MP committed Labour to its first ever national cultural infrastructure plan in a speech at Labour Party Conference.
The Shadow Secretary of State also highlighted that she is working with Shadow Education Minister Bridget Philipson “to bring the best music, art, sports and drama to every child because every child's talent matters.”
Working together to make musicians’ working lives better
MU General Secretary Naomi Pohl said: “It is great to hear Labour’s plans to champion music education, fix EU touring and promote creative spaces across the UK.
“Thangam has been a friend of the union and musicians for years. As a musician herself, she genuinely understands the difficulties MU members are facing and she is committed to working with the MU to make musicians’ working lives better.”
Head of Government Relations & Communications Isabelle Gutierrez said: "Thangam has been working with the MU for almost a decade now and is passionate about music education, musicians’ rights and cultural access for all. We’re really excited to be able to work with her in her new role to get these issues higher up Labour’s list of priorities."
Turning the page on more than a decade of cuts and mismanagement
In her speech, the Shadow Minister called on delegates to “Imagine the possibilities for the creative industries if they had a national champion squarely in their corner fighting for them,” adding “That champion is the next Labour government.”
“Creative Industries backed by the next Labour government, right at the heart of our plan for economic growth where they belong, shouting loud and proud about the joy they bring. It's what makes us human. It makes life worth living,” she said.
Invest in the arts
Naomi was able to speak to the Labour Party conference shortly after Thangam, highlighting the damage caused by a decade of underinvestment in the arts and the current threat to jobs at Northern Ballet.