About Lady Wilcox
Debbie Wilcox, Lady Wilcox of Newport is a former teacher with more than 35 years’ experience in front-line education, and a record of almost 20 years serving local government in Wales.
She was educated at the Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London and the University of Wales, Cardiff.
Following her successful education career in London, and as head of drama and media studies at Hartridge High School in Newport, and head of the performing arts faculty and senior management team at Hawthorn High School, Pontypridd, she took her expertise into politics where in 2004, she was elected as local councillor for the Gaer on Newport City Council. She was re-elected in 2008, 2012 and 2017, and also served as Chair of the Labour Group and Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture in 2012. She also served as the Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services.
In 2016, she was elected as the first female Leader of Newport City Council a role in which she served until she was elevated to the House of Lords in 2019.
In March 2020 Lady Wilcox was appointed as an Opposition Whip and joined the local government team in the Lords and in September 2020 Lady Wilcox was appointed as Shadow Spokesperson for Women & Equalities as part of the Lords Front Bench team. In March 2021 she was appointed as Shadow Spokesperson for Wales and as the Education Whip in the Opposition Front Bench.
She has also served as an external examiner for both the WJEC and AQA Examination Boards for more than 25 years and became the principal examiner for A-Level Theatre Studies. She was also a member of the Local Government Executive and the first woman Leader of the Welsh Local Government Association from 2017 to 2019.
Lady Wilcox’s other interests include Commissioner to the Lifelong Education Commission, Vice-Chair of the APPG of the Western Gateway / Porth Y Gorllewin and Chair of Trustees of the Council for Drama, Dance and Musical Theatre (CDMT). She currently serves as a Commissioner for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service appointed by the Welsh Government.
In November 2023 she was awarded a Fellowship by Teesside University as a result of her work with the UK 2070 Commission and the Commonwealth in delivering economic growth missions between Wales, Teesside, and South Africa.
My Work
Member of the House of Lords
Lady Wilcox was introduced on November 4th 2019 and gave her maiden speech in February 2020.
She became an Opposition Whip in February 2020 with a shadow role in the Women & Equalities team. This was shortly followed by moving to the Wales team and finally the Education team.
Lady Wilcox worked on several Bills including the Skills Bill and the Education Bill securing several amendments from the government.
She continues to focus her work on Education matters and those concerning Wales but has widened her scope to include her experiences of local government including housing and planning issues which will be at the forefront of government bills in the new session.
Further information can be found here.
South Wales Fire and Rescue
Following the publication on 3 January 2024 of the Morris Review of culture and values of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, the Welsh Government used powers under Section 29(5) and (6) of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 to remove the governance functions of the South Wales Fire and Rescue Authority and transfer them to four appointed Commissioners.
Lady Wilcox was appointed as a Commissioner, tasked with ensuring the full and sustainable implementation of recommendations arising from the Morris Review, as well as acting on recommendations of the Welsh Government’s Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor. With her fellow Commissioners, she has full powers to restructure and reform Service management and instil a positive, non-discriminatory culture and will remain in post until the Welsh Government are satisfied that substantial progress has been made and a revised governance process has been implemented.
Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre
Lady Wilcox is Chair of The Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre, a role she has held since 2022.
It is the go-to body for quality assurance and membership support in the performing arts, and the first point of contact for employers, students and teachers seeking information about quality training, education and assessment in dance, drama, musical theatre, and related performing arts across the UK.
CDMT’s mission in advancing both outstanding artistic performance and creative opportunity for all chimes strongly with her own personal and professional experiences both within and outside the political arena.
Labour & Cooperative Party
Lady Wilcox worked closely with Cllr Antoinette Bramble, Deputy Leader of the LGA Group as Co-Chair on the Cooperative Party Democracy Charter.
The project initially began whilst Lady Wilcox served as Leader of the Welsh LGA, developing the Welsh Diversity in Democracy charter and evolved into the Diverse Councils Declaration for England. It is aimed at increasing diversity in local government chambers across England.
Recommendations included encouraging people from different background to stand for elected office, promoting cultures of inclusion and practical measures such as mentoring and greater provision for flexibility and job-sharing.