FORMER shadow culture secretary and Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire has been called out for previous comments she made on the House of Lords as she has now been offered a peerage by the Prime Minister.
Debbonaire said she was “honoured’ by the invitation despite Keir Starmer having previously promised to abolish the House of Lords altogether.
In a post on Twitter/X, she said: “I’m honoured to be asked to join the House of Lords. I’m grateful to the Prime Minister for giving me this opportunity to serve the country and support the Labour Government he leads to transform the UK.”
Thangam Debbonaire sometime in the past: "This has been rewarding cronies, and that's just not on, and Keir Starmer would never do that, he would never exploit the honours system to do what Boris Johnson has done" pic.twitter.com/uPBWCVuaoa
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) December 20, 2024
Debbonaire represented Bristol West between 2010 and 2024, but lost the Bristol Central seat in the July General Election.
The Green Party’s Carla Denyer won the seat with 56.6% of the vote, picking up 24,539 votes compared with 14,132 for Debbonaire.
Writing on Twitter/X, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer said: “A few months ago voters were asked if they wanted Thangam Debbonaire in Parliament.
“They said no. The Labour Party knows better though, so now she gets to be a lawmaker for life and the silly public will never get a say on the matter.”
Elsewhere, journalist and National contributor Owen Jones also shared comments made by Debbonaire in which she rejected suggestions from the Greens that she would end up in the Lords if she lost her seat.
Responding to the suggestions from Green activists in June, she told Playbook during an interview: “It’s an extraordinary thing to say… that is quite something.”
Another Twitter/X user also shared a clip of Debbonaire hitting out at Boris Johnson for “rewarding cronies”.
She said: “And that’s just not on and Keir Starmer would never do that. He would never exploit the honours system to do what Boris Johnson has done.”
The UK Government announced 38 new peerages on Friday, including former Downing Street chief of staff Sue Gray.
Former Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander and former Scottish Labour MP Margaret Curran were also on the list.
