Carole Tongue studied French and Politics at Loughborough University. In 1980, she joined the Labour Party. She became a member of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and a trade union activist.
Between 1984 and 1999, Tongue served as a member of the European Parliament. During that time, she was member of the Socialist Group, member of the Group of the Party of European Socialists, member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection, member of the Delegation for relations with Israel, member of the Committee on Women's Rights, member of the Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand, member of the Delegation for relations with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, member of the Committee on Institutional Affairs, member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy, member of the Committee on Social Affairs, Employment and the Working Environment, member of the Delegation for relations with the Republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), member of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media and member of the Delegation for relations with the United States.
In 2005 Tongue received a law an honorary doctorate from the University of Lincoln for services to public service in broadcasting and audiovisual sectors. The same year, she founded the Coalition with Holy Aylett to implement the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. In 2014 Tongue was appointed President of the European Coalitions for Cultural Diversity.