News / Politics
Debbonaire: ‘I’ve worked hard to be engaged with the people I represent’
The Memorial Stadium is not within the newly created Bristol Central constituency but it was here that Keir Starmer joined Thangam Debbonaire on the Labour leader’s first visit to Bristol during this general election campaign.
If Starmer becomes prime minister in July, then Debbonaire could join his cabinet as minister for culture and sport.
But first, the former professional cellist needs to regain her slightly redrawn seat, where she is up against Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer.
is needed now More than ever
“I’m never complacent,” Debbonaire told Bristol24/7 at the Mem.
“I always work hard for every vote. I took this seat in 2015 off a member of the Lib Dem coalition.
“I’ve worked hard to be engaged with the people I represent and I get really good responses on the doorstep.
“People know who I am and they can usually tell me something I’ve done that they’ve liked.”
Thangam Debbonaire was given a Bristol Rovers shirt with ‘change 24’ on the back during her visit to the Memorial Stadium – photo: Labour Party
Several opinion polls have predicted Denyer to win Bristol Central, with the Greens putting a huge amount of their national resources into their number one target seat.
But Debbonaire does not appear too concerned about her electoral challenger, who is gaining an ever-increasing national profile.
“The key thing I’m hearing, including those who voted Tory last time, is that they want a change of government,” said Debbonaire.
“People forget that if you want a change of government, you have to vote for it.
“If I am re-elected, it’s likely Keir will want to keep me in the same role, and that’s exciting for Bristol.”
In Bishopston near the Memorial Stadium, Labour posters outnumber Green posters – photo: Martin Booth
When asked by Bristol24/7 about how knife crime continues to affect Bristol’s youth, Starmer said: “I’ve seen the recent cases in Bristol and the first thing I want to say is that my heart goes out to the family and friends of all those that have lost their lives.
“They are young people, strikingly young in some cases. We have to get a grip on this. The government has utterly failed.
“Knife crime has gone up 70 per since 2015 – that is shocking. We will immediately take action on this.”
Starmer said that a Labour government would ban the online sale of so-called ‘zombie’ knives and similar knives.
He also promises a Young Futures approach. “This will reach into those youngsters who look like they are going off the rails, and to give them support.””
Starmer added: “The third thing is if you carry a knife you must carry the consequences. There are too many people who get caught with knives and end up writing a letter instead of actually receiving real consequences.”
Debbonaire was keen to stress that the Young Futures programme will be cross-departmental, with youth services coming into the Department of Culture, Media & Sport which she could be in charge of after July 4, “and I’m very proud of what it can offer in terms of ancillary support”.
“Too often in this city, we’ve seen knife crime devastate communities,” Debbonaire said. “It devastates young people’s lives too because they don’t feel safe to go out.”
When she became shadow minister for culture and sport, former professional cellist Debbonaire famously said she had never been to a football match – photo: Labour Party
In Bristol, there are nearly 34,000 unpaid carers. Nine per cent of primary school pupils and five per cent of secondary school pupils in our city’s schools identify as a ‘young carer’.
Starmer stressed the need to improve social services: “Carers often give up a huge amount to provide care. We also need to rebuild social care, across the board.
“Because it’s in a terrible state, it puts even more strain on the NHS which means we can’t move people out of hospital and into their communities.”
Debbonaire added: “If you have a national care service, that’s one of the things unpaid carers really struggle with, is the lack of consistency.
“Unpaid carers often don’t call themselves carers, they just know they love their mum or their child.
“They are often doing what they feel needs to be done. Sometimes they just need concrete, basic support and that’s taken a real battering over the last few years.
“I don’t want those carers to feel like their care is unimportant or undervalued, but it shouldn’t be relied upon if people simply can’t assess the care they need.”
Main photo: Labour Party
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