It is with deep sadness that we share the news that Baroness Helen Newlove, one of our Patrons died on 11 November 2025 following a short illness. Helen was an integral part of our organisation and made a lasting impact through her leadership, dedication, and passion for supporting women in all walks of life.
Helen became involved in the Women of the Year Awards after winning the Woman of Achievement Award in 2015 for her tireless work following the murder of her husband by drunken youths in 2007 outside of her home. She campaigned government to reduce the binge drinking culture and raised awareness of the need to improve victim support, becoming the Victims Commissioner for the first time in 2012. In 2021, she became the Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords.
Helen sat on the Women of the Year Board for several years and later was invited to become a Patron to reflect her continued dedication to our organisation. We will remember Helen not only for her professional achievements but also for her kindness and commitment to our shared values.
Helen referred to herself as an “ordinary woman” – to us she was extraordinary and will be very sadly missed.
Our thoughts are with Helen’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.
Board of Directors
Sally Lindsay, President
Family and Lords release:
The Victims Commissioner and passionate community campaigner, Baroness Newlove of Warrington, has died after a short illness. She was 63-years-old.
Helen Newlove came to prominence in 2007 after her husband, Garry Newlove, was kicked and punched to death by a gang of youths vandalising the family car parked outside their Warrington home.
Mr Newlove had spent months before the attack trying to stop the group terrorising the neighbourhood. Three teenagers were jailed for life in 2008 for his murder.
Baroness Newlove’s moving speech after their convictions, in which she publicly pleaded with parents to take responsibility for their children, marked a watershed moment in how the country should tackle youth violence and anti-social behaviour.
Determined to improve the experience of victims of crime, the shy Cheshire housewife and mother embarked on more than two decades of tireless campaigning.
In 2010, David Cameron appointed her as the Government’s Champion for Active, Safer Communities where she worked with communities up and down the country to make their neighbourhoods safer.
She was awarded a peerage in that year’s dissolution honours list. In 2013 she became Victim’s Commissioner for England and Wales, a position she held until 2019. She agreed to take on the position again in 2023 until the end of this year when her successor, Claire Waxman, is due to take over the role.
A passionate campaigner, she combined a rare tenacity with a notoriously warm, approachable, manner to significant effect. During her time as Victims Commissioner, Baroness Newlove laid the groundwork to enshrine victims’ rights in law and led important reviews on anti-social behaviour, the Victim’s Code and reforms to the Parole system.
She is survived by her second husband and her and Garry’s three children.