Deborah Ann Wilcox, Baroness Wilcox of Newport (born 15 June 1957) is a Welsh

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

councillor, and former teacher, who had served from May 2016 until September 2019 as Leader of Newport City Council. She is also head of the

Welsh Local Government Association The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) ( cy, Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru) represents the interests of local authorities in Wales. It is an affiliated member of the Local Government Association of England and Wales and the regional emp ...

, a role she has held since 2017. In September 2019, it was announced that she would be made a Labour

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

in the

2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours The 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours are honours awarded following the July 2019 resignation of the Prime Minister, Theresa May. The life peerages and other honours were issued as two separate lists by the Cabinet Office on 10 September ...

and would be stepping down as Council Leader.

Early life

Wilcox was born in the

Rhondda valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

, and brought up in

Pontygwaith Pontygwaith (Welsh,"Bridge to work" or "Bridge of the Ironworks") is a village in the Taff Valley, south of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. A Sussex Ironmaster named Anthony Morley set up a small ironworks here in 1583. On 21 February 1804 Richard T ...

. She studied for a BEd Drama and Education at the Central School of Speech and Drama between 1975 and 1979, followed by a MA in Media Studies at University of Wales, Cardiff between 1994 and 1997.

Teaching career

She began her career as a teacher, initially at

Hawthorn High School Hawthorn High School ( cy, Ysgol Uwchradd Y Hawthorn) is an English-medium comprehensive school in the village of Hawthorn near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It was filmed by the CBBC CBBC (initialised as Chi ...

as well as spells teaching in the Newport area for 30 years including at

Hartridge High School Llanwern High School is a secondary school on the eastern edge of Newport, Wales. The school has a capacity for 1450 pupils. History Previously known as Hartridge High School, it changed its name in 2012 to Llanwern High School, recruited a ne ...

, Duffryn High School, and Maindee Primary School.

Political career

In 2004 she was appointed Cabinet Member for Education and Young People, a role she held until 2016, as well as a former Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture. In 2016 she was appointed as the first female Leader of Newport City Council, replacing the outgoing Bob Bright. In 2017 she became the first female Leader of the

, succeeding Cllr Bob Wellington OBE, the former leader of Torfaen County Borough Council. As part of her new role, Wilcox spoke to BBC Wales to criticise the "abuse of councillors on social media" prompted by reactions to cuts to public services. She stated that, while councillors should be open to fair criticism and scrutiny, the situation was "becoming unsafe". It came after

Bridgend County Borough Bridgend County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. The county borough has a total population of 139,200 people, and contains the town of Bridgend, after which it is named. It ...

Councillor Sadie Vidal was told she "would be torn apart by fox hounds" and

Flintshire County Council Flintshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Flintshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. It is based at County Hall in Mold. Elections take place every five years. The last election was on 5 May 2022. Histor ...

Deputy Leader Bernie Attridge was threatened along with his children after the closure of

John Summers High School John Summers High School (formerly Deeside High School) was an 11–18 mixed, English-medium, secondary school and sixth form in Queensferry, Flintshire, Wales. It closed on 20 July 2017. Its sixth form education was provided through the Dee ...

in the area in 2015. The WLGA stated it is looking at ways to "protect councillors from online and face-to-face abuse, including potential legislation." Wilcox announced her candidacy in the

2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election The 2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election took place from 16 February to 21 April 2018. It followed a review in the Welsh Labour Party which for the first time formalised the role of Deputy Leader. As the then leader Carwyn Jones was ...

, but withdrew in favor of

Julie Morgan Julie Morgan (née Edwards; 2 November 1944) is a Welsh Labour Party politician, who has been a Member of the Senedd for Cardiff North seat in the Senedd since the 2011 election. She was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff Nort ...

. In 2018, she became a fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. In 2019 she was criticised by Conservative councillors for spending £11,397 on "chauffeur driven cars" out of a total Council budget of £81,415 on such vehicles. Having been announced as a life peer, in September 2019, Wilcox informed a meeting of the full council that she would be stepping down as Council Leader, at least in the short term, in order to focus on her role in the Lords.

House of Lords

In September 2019, it was announced that she would be made a Labour

in the

. She is referred to widely as Baroness Wilcox, but takes the exact name, style and title of Baroness Wilcox of Newport. On 4 November 2019, she was introduced to the House. Since 2 March 2020, she has served as an opposition whip.

Personal life

Wilcox is openly gay, and was shortlisted by Pride Cymru/Wales Online's Pinc List which "recognises the most influential LGBT+ people in Wales". She was an advocate for the repeal of

Section 28 Section 28 or Clause 28While going through Parliament, the amendment was constantly relabelled with a variety of clause numbers as other amendments were added to or deleted from the Bill, but by the final version of the Bill, which received R ...

, a statute forbidding the promotion of homosexuality by local government and maintained schools. The statute was repealed in September 2003 by the

Local Government Act 2003 The Local Government Act 2003 (c 26) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It made various changes to the administration of local government in the United Kingdom. Although it contained mainly financial provisions, section 122 repea ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, Debbie Living people People from Rhondda Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Alumni of the University of Wales Women councillors in Wales Welsh Labour politicians Welsh educators Leaders of local authorities of Wales 1957 births Labour Party (UK) life peers Lesbian politicians Welsh lesbians Welsh LGBT politicians LGBT life peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II