- Margot James
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Margot James MP Member of Parliament
for StourbridgeIncumbent Assumed office
6 May 2010Preceded by Lynda Waltho Majority 5,164 (10.9%) Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party Incumbent Assumed office
2008Councillor, Brompton ward of Kensington & Chelsea In office
June 2005 – 2008Leader David Cameron Personal details Born 1958 (age 52–53)
Coventry, Warwickshire, EnglandNationality English Political party Conservative Spouse(s) Jay Hunt Residence South Kensington, Oldswinford Alma mater London School of Economics Website Official website Margot James MP (born 1958) is an English politician and entrepreneur. She is currently a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party with responsibility for women, and the Member of Parliament (MP) for the consituency of Stourbridge. She is the first openly lesbian MP in the Conservative Party. She previously served as a local councillor in Kensington & Chelsea from 2006-08.
Contents
Early life
The younger daughter of a self-made businessman, James was born in Coventry.[1] Educated privately in Leamington Spa, she attended sixth form at Millfield School,[2] before going on to the London School of Economics (LSE), where she earned a degree in Economics & Government.
Professional career
James worked in sales and marketing for her father's business, Maurice James Industries (MJI), a haulage, waste management, and property group based around Birmingham. After working for a consulting firm, in 1986 she co-founded Shire Health Group, a public relations and clinical trials organisation. Shire Health was voted ‘Consultancy of the Year’ three times, while James was voted Communicator of the Year in 1997. The company was sold to business partner Ogilvy & Mather for £4 million in 2004,[3] with James appointed Head of European Healthcare for parent WPP Group.[1]
Political career
James joined the Conservative Party aged 17, and chaired the LSE Conservative Association.[1] During her studies, she acted as a researcher for MP Sir Anthony Durant, and after graduation spent a gap year working in the press office of Conservative Central Office.[1] James resigned from the Conservative Party after Margaret Thatcher was ousted as Prime Minister. She rejoined the Conservative Party in 2004,[2] and is patron of the UCL Conservative Society.
At the May 2005 general election, she was the Conservative candidate for the Holborn and St. Pancras constituency.[2] She came third behind the sitting MP, Labour's Frank Dobson, and the Liberal Democrat candidate Jill Fraser.
In May 2006, James was elected a local councillor for the Brompton ward of Kensington & Chelsea, becoming one of the Conservative Party's few 'out' lesbian office holders. She resigned from the council in 2008.
She was placed on the 'A-List' of Conservative Party parliamentary candidates ahead of the 2010 general election,[4] and was selected as the candidate for the marginal Labour-held constituency of Stourbridge, from where she was elected. This made her the second lesbian woman in the House of Commons, after Angela Eagle, and the first to have come out before her election.
Other activities
James served on the board of Parkside NHS Trust, and worked as a Mental Health Manager. She spent ten years as a trustee of Abantu, an African women's charity, during which time she trained women from more than forty different African countries in communications and lobbying skills. She has also worked as a mentor for The Prince's Trust and Young Enterprise.[1] She sits on the Court of Governors at LSE.
Personal life
James lives in South Kensington and Oldswinford with her partner, Jay Hunt, presenter of the BBC television programme Would Like To Meet. She ranked in the top 50 on The Independent's Pink List of the 101 most influential gay men and women in 2009.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Margot James - About". Margot James. http://www.margotjames.com/about. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ a b c "I can't be 'outed'". Evening Standard. 4 March 2004. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-9473424-details/I+can%27t+be+%27outed%27/article.do. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
- ^ a b "Gay Power: The Pink List 2009" The Independent, 2 July 2009
- ^ "Who is on the A-list?" from ConservativeHome, 2009
External links
- Margot James MP Official constituency website
- Stourbridge Conservatives
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
- Voting record at PublicWhip.org
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
- Liz Hoggard, Cameron's girl, The Observer, 22 January 2006
- Brian Wheeler, Gays 'have a duty to vote Tory', BBC News, 30 September 2008
- The IoS Pink List 2008 The Independent, 22 June 2008, Margot James named no. 27
- The IoS Pink List 2009 The Independent, 28 June 2009, Margot James named no. 46
Categories:- 1958 births
- Living people
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- UK MPs 2010–
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Lesbian politicians
- LGBT politicians from the United Kingdom
- Councillors in Kensington and Chelsea
- English public relations people
- English businesspeople
- LGBT businesspeople
- Alumni of the London School of Economics
- Old Millfieldians
- People from Coventry
- British female MPs
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