Deborah Ann Wilcox, Baroness Wilcox of Newport (born 15 June 1957) is a British politician serving as a Member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she served as Leader of the

Welsh Local Government Association The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA; , CLlLC) represents the interests of local authorities in Wales. It is affiliated with the Local Government Association for England and Wales and acts as Wales’ regional employers organisation. His ...

from 2017 to 2019. Wilcox was Leader of

Newport City Council Newport City Council () is the governing body for Newport, one of the principal areas of Wales. It consists of 51 councillors, who represent the city's 20 wards. The council is currently, and has historically been, held by the Labour Party. ...

from 2016 to 2019 and served on the Council from 2004 to 2022.

Early life

Deborah Ann Wilcox was born on 15 June 1957 in the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coal mining, 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 (, 'la ...

, 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 ...

. She studied for a

BEd A bed is a piece of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

in Drama and Education at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

between 1975 and 1979, followed by a MA in Media Studies at

University of Wales, Cardiff Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

between 1994 and 1997.

Teaching career

She began her career as a teacher, initially at

Hawthorn High School Hawthorn High School () was an English-medium comprehensive school in the village of Hawthorn near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It was featured in the CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadc ...

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

Hartridge High School Llanwern High School is a secondary school near Llanwern, 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, ...

Duffryn High School The John Frost School, formerly known as Duffryn High School (), is a comprehensive school on the south-western outskirts of Newport, south Wales. It is in the suburb of Duffryn and opened in 1959. In 2018 the Welsh-medium secondary school Y ...

, 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

, 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 () 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. Its members of the Senedd are Sarah Murphy ...

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 Tŷ Dewi Sant, Ewloe since 2025. It was previously based at County Hall in Mold. Elections take place ...

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 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 male ...

, 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 No ...

. In 2018, she became a fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

. In 2019 she was criticised by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

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

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

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. 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 Pride Cymru (previously Cardiff Mardi Gras) is an LGBT pride festival held annually in Cardiff, Wales. Pride Cymru's Big Weekend is the biggest celebration of equality and diversity in Wales. Over 3 days, Pride Cymru hosts over 50,000 people in ...

/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 refers to a part of the Local Government Act 1988, which stated that Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with t ...

, 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 rep ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox of Newport, Debbie Wilcox, Baroness 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 Co-operative life peers British lesbian politicians Welsh lesbians Welsh LGBTQ politicians LGBTQ life peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II