Tessa’s Legacy

Tessa Jowell was elected Labour member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood in 1992, a constituency in south-east London she served devotedly for 23 years.  Over her 50 years of public service, she became known as ‘the people’s politician’, a rare accolade in British politics that reflected her unique brand of authenticity, decency and an ability to see and advocate in the humanity of those she was elected to serve.

Her legacy spans decades of transformative work .  As the longest-serving Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in Tony Blair's Government, Tessa championed the successful bid for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, using it as a platform to promote inclusion, the regeneration of East London, and the potential for sport to create opportunity for young people.

Tessa’s life's work was in public health, where she led some of the most transformational initiatives of her time. Among her most enduring achievements was the design and delivery of the Sure Start programme – establishing over 3000 centres across the UK to support children under five and their families. Designed to break cycles of inequality, Sure Start became a cornerstone of early years policy and reflected the culmination of her career dedicated to tackling systemic causes of health inequality.

In 2017, Tessa was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. In her final weeks, she campaigned passionately for the radical innovation in brain cancer treatment, care and research across the UK – leading to the creation of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission in 2018[PP1] , which the Foundation continues to fund and guide.

Tessa died on 12th May 2018. Her extraordinary life was celebrated, and her untimely death mourned across British society.

Tessa’s compassion, tenacity, courage and optimism for a fairer and more equal society continues to guide our mission and purpose.