Music Education: State Schools

Baroness Debbonaire Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Debbonaire (Lab) (Maiden Speech)]

My Lords, I am grateful to follow the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley. It has been a pleasure actually seeing him in real life, as opposed to just hearing him on Radio 3, which is still a great pleasure.

I rise for my first speech in your Lordships’ House. I am grateful to all noble Lords for the warm welcome I have received, and I am particularly grateful to my noble friend Lady Keeley—we really were a great team. I declare my interest as a member of the Musicians’ Union; the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, has outed me as a cellist already.

Music and, more broadly, arts and culture are everywhere and everything: the tune we sing in the shower; the stories we read to children; the poems that I have tattooed—there really is something for everyone. Just saying that is not enough; we need to make a political case for the arts. The arts give us ways to dream and to imagine a better world. They are good for our economy, for our lives and for our planet. They give good economic return on investment for exports, tourism and jobs. The social return is enormous.

This is an ecosystem. The commercial and the non-commercial, the different art forms and the enormous range of skills—they all interact to sustain the whole. But much of this sector is threatened, as other noble Lords have referred to, and we risk losing our global reputation for excellence. I benefited from outstanding musical education, and I want every child to have that chance.

This ecosystem means that the person who started out at the National Theatre becomes a writer on “Succession”. It is why film soundtracks are recorded in the UK—because our musicians really are the best. A TV costume designer visits a museum to capture exactly how a suit of armour moves. A game’s creator was inspired by their art teacher. The ecosystem is essential, not optional.

When we do this right, music and the arts give enjoyment for everyone—and for people from all backgrounds to earn a good living. Opera, for example, as my noble friend will know, employs so many working-class people, from the chorus to the technicians. It truly is a way to make your way in the arts. When we do it wrong, opportunities become exclusive, and we allow talent to go undeveloped. When museums are honest about the stories behind their objects, they make better museums. When the performing arts are at their best, they tell better stories and have more excellent performers.

Fighting for the whole ecosystem, and for everyone to enjoy it, will always be necessary, and I will use my skills, my knowledge, my experience and my time in this place to make that political case while I am here. Thank you.