Margot James

Early life

The younger daughter of a self-made businessman, James was born in Coventry. Educated privately in Leamington Spa, she then attended the sixth form at Millfield School in Street, Somerset. James is a graduate of the London School of Economics (LSE) with a degree in Economics and Government.

James joined the Conservative Party aged 17, and chaired the LSE Conservative Association. 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.

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 in the Communiqué Awards for 1998, 1999 and 2001, while James was voted Communicator of the Year in 1997. The company was sold to WPP Group in 2004, with James appointed Head of European Healthcare for WPP subsidiary Ogilvy & Mather.

Political career

James had resigned from the Conservative Party after Margaret Thatcher was ousted as Prime Minister. She rejoined the Conservative Party early in 2003.

At the May 2005 general election, she was the Conservative candidate for the Holborn and St. Pancras constituency; James was the first ever openly lesbian Conservative candidate to stand in a British general election. 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.

James was placed on the "A-List" of Conservative Party parliamentary candidates ahead of the 2010 general election, and was selected as the candidate for the marginal Labour-held constituency of Stourbridge, from where she was elected. This made her the first openly lesbian MP in the Conservative Party, second "out" lesbian in the House of Commons, after Angela Eagle, and the first to have come out before her election. In her maiden speech she paid tribute to Stourbridge's history of glass making.

She was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Stephen Green, Baron Green of Hurstpierpoint, during his period as Minister for Trade and Investment from 2011 to 2013. From 2014 to 2015, James served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to William Hague, the then Leader of the House of Commons.

In January 2016, the Labour Party unsuccessfully proposed an amendment in Parliament that would have required private landlords to make their homes "fit for human habitation". According to Parliament's register of interests, James was one of 72 Conservative MPs who voted against the amendment who personally derived an income from renting out property. The Conservative Government had responded to the amendment that they believed homes should be fit for human habitation but did not want to pass the new law that would explicitly require it.

James was opposed to leaving the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum.

James was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy by Theresa May, in her first ministry in July 2016.

James served as Minister of State for Digital and the Creative Industries from 9 January 2018, resigning on 18 July 2019 to vote against the Government on an amendment; rebelling in an attempt to prevent the prorogation of Parliament which could have been used to force through a no-deal Brexit.

James endorsed Rory Stewart during the 2019 Conservative leadership election.

James had the Conservative whip removed on 3 September 2019. On 29 October 2019, she was one of ten Conservative MPs to have the whip restored, but announced on 3 November her intention to stand down as an MP at the 2019 general election, following disagreements with her local party.

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 40 different African countries in communications and lobbying skills. She has also worked as a mentor for The Prince's Trust and Young Enterprise. She sits on the Court of Governors at LSE.

She is a vice-president of the Debating Group. and in 2019, was named the 50th 'Most Influential Woman in UK Tech' by Computer Weekly magazine.

Personal life

James lives in South Kensington and Stourbridge with her partner, Jay Hunt, previously a producer and presenter with the BBC and now managing director of a video production company, Violet Productions. She ranked in the top 50 on The Independents "Pink List" of the 101 most influential British gay men and women in 2009.

References

References

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2. (15 July 2014). "The Conservative women on the rise in Cameron's reshuffle". BBC.
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4. Live, Coventry. (18 September 2006). "Margot the new face of Toryism".
5. (19 July 2017). "Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17".
6. (11 May 2017). "The Communiqué Awards at 20: Sarah Matthew".
7. Farey, Daniel. (3 September 2004). "WPP merges divisions to form Ogilvy Healthworld". PR Week.
8. Saner, Emine. (4 March 2004). "I can't be 'outed'". [[London Evening Standard]].
9. (6 May 2005). "BBC NEWS {{!}} Election 2005 {{!}} Results {{!}} Holborn & St Pancras".
10. (4 May 2006). "Brompton ward: local election results". Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
11. Hoggard, Liz. (22 January 2006). "Cameron's girl". The Guardian.
12. Boothroyd, David. (31 March 2008). "Forthcoming byelections {{!}} LocalCouncils.co.uk".
13. (May 2006). "Who is on the A-list?". ConservativeHome.
14. (29 November 2009). "Election spending row breaks out in Stourbridge". BBC News.
15. "BBC News {{!}} Election 2010 {{!}} Constituency {{!}} Stourbridge".
16. Staff writer. (7 May 2010). "Margot James becomes the second out lesbian in parliament". Pink News.
17. (7 June 2010). "Constitution and Home Affairs".
18. Featherstone, Emma. (29 July 2016). "Margot James appointed as minister for small business". The Guardian.
19. (8 January 2021). "Interview: Margot James".
20. (12 January 2016). "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 12 Jan 2016".
21. "Register of Members' Financial Interests as at 14 December 2015".
22. Renshaw, Rosalind. (15 January 2016). "Tory MP landlords named after voting down proposal to outlaw unfit homes".
23. Stone, Jon. (13 January 2016). "Tories vote down law requiring landlords make their homes fit for human habitation". The Independent.
24. "Did MPs vote against forcing homes to be made fit to live in?". Full Fact.
25. (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator.
26. "Ministerial appointments: January 2018".
27. Speare-Cole, Rebecca. (18 July 2019). "Margot James resigns as minister after voting against Government".
28. (16 June 2019). "Margot James on Twitter: "Cheered by the thoughtful and positive #C4Debate @RoryStewartUK had the edge for me, energetic, determined and embracing the centre ground, I will support him for next PM"".
29. PoliticsHome.com. (4 September 2019). "Twenty-one Tory rebels lose party whip after backing bid to block no-deal Brexit".
30. Madeley, Pete. (4 September 2019). "Rebel MP Margot James: Tories 'not fit to govern' after morphing into Brexit Party".
31. (29 October 2019). "Whip restored to 10 Conservative MPs who rebelled against government over Brexit".
32. Shipman, Tim. (3 November 2019). "Tory rebel Margot James stands down as MP following clashes with local party". The Sunday Times.
33. (3 November 2019). "Stourbridge MP Margot James announces she will not stand at General Election".
34. (15 July 2009). "Question Time: This week's panel". BBC News.
35. (5 July 2010). "Margot James: Tories to 'nudge' change in NHS".
36. "Court of Governors".
37. "Debating Group". Debating Group.
38. "Computer Weekly announces the Most Influential Women in UK Tech 2019".
39. Edwardes, Charlotte. (17 July 2018). "DCMS minister Margot James on promoting diversity in tech".
40. (7 May 2010). "Margot James becomes the second out lesbian in parliament".
41. (6 October 2010). "MP "brushes off" link to sex videos".
42. Tuck, Andrew. (2 July 2009). "Gay Power: The Pink List 2009". [[The Independent]].