Pamela Margaret Cox is a British Labour Party politician and academic who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Biography

Pamela Cox was brought up in

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

. Her mother was a midwife before becoming a nurse. Her father left school at the age of 15 and was apprenticed as a joiner before joining the church and becoming a minister. She has two sisters, both of whom became nurses in south Essex. Cox studied history at

Robinson College, Cambridge Robinson College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both ...

, and in 1997 was awarded a PhD for a thesis on the history of girls' delinquency in Britain. Prior to her election as an MP, she was a professor of social history and criminology at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

, and has been 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 ...

since 2017. She presented the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary series, '' Shopgirls: The True Story of Life Behind the Counter'' and '' Servants: The True Story of Life Below Stairs'', and has contributed to historical and cultural programmes for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

and Channel 5 including ''

Edwardian Britain in Colour ''Edwardian Britain in Colour'' is a 2019 historical documentary television series narrated by Sarah Lancashire, that colourises footage from Edwardian era In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century tha ...

''.

Politics

In 1994, Cox joined the Labour Party. She has been a New Town and Christ Church councillor since May 2021, and on 5 November 2022 she became the Labour Party

prospective parliamentary candidate In British politics, a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) is a candidate selected by political parties to contest under individual Westminster constituencies in advance of a general election. The term originally came into use because of ...

in the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

for

. Upon her election to parliament, she became the first female MP to represent the constituency. In November 2024, Cox voted in favour of the

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is a private members' bill (PMB) which proposes to legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill adults in England and Wales. The bill was introduced by Labour backbench MP Kim Leadbeater in October 20 ...

, which proposes to legalise

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

Works

* ''Becoming Delinquent: British and European Youth, 1650-1950'' (2002) (co-authored with Heather Shore) * ''Gender, Justice and Welfare: Bad Girls in Britain, 1900-1950'' (2003) * ''Young Criminal Lives: Life Courses and Life Chances from 1850'' (2017) (co-authored with Barry Godfrey, Heather Shore and Zoe Alker) * ''Shopgirls: the True Story of Life Behind the Counter'' (2014) (co-authored with Annabel Hobley) * ''Criminology: A Sociological Introduction'' (2014) (co-authored by Eamonn Carrabine, Pete Fussey, Dick Hobbs, Nigel South, Darren Thiel, Jackie Turton)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Pam Academics of the University of Essex Alumni of Robinson College, Cambridge Councillors in Essex Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Southend-on-Sea UK MPs 2024–present Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Women councillors in England