Margot Cathleen James (born 28 August 1957) is a British politician who served as

Minister of State for Digital and Creative Industries In the Government of the United Kingdom, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Arts and Heritage is a ministerial post in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The post is usually a junior to middle-ranking minister to the mo ...

from 2018 to 2019. She was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The ...

from

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. Elected as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, she had the whip removed in September 2019 and, after having the whip restored, stood down as an MP prior to the upcoming general election.

Early life

The younger daughter of a self-made businessman, James was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

. Educated privately in

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

, she then attended the sixth form at

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding schoo ...

Street, Somerset Street is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, with a population of 11,805 in 2011. On a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, it is south-west of Glastonbury. There is evidence of Roman occupation ...

. James is a graduate of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

(LSE) with a degree in Economics and Government. James joined the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

aged 17, and chaired the

LSE LSE may refer to: Computing * LSE (programming language), a computer programming language * LSE, Latent sector error, a media assessment measure related to the hard disk drive storage technology * Language-Sensitive Editor, a text editor used ...

Conservative Association. During her studies, she acted as a researcher for MP Sir Anthony Durant, and after graduation spent a

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...

working in the

press office Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...

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 Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

. After working for a consulting firm, in 1986 she co-founded Shire Health Group, a

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

and

clinical trials Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dieta ...

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 Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based advertising agency, agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging wit ...

Political career

James had resigned from the Conservative Party after

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

was ousted as Prime Minister. She rejoined the Conservative Party early in 2003. At the May 2005 general election, she was the Conservative

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...

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 Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

candidate Jill Fraser. In May 2006, James was elected a local councillor for the Brompton ward of

Kensington & Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...

, 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 An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry. The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industry ...

" of Conservative Party parliamentary candidates ahead of the 2010 general election, and was selected as the candidate for the

marginal Marginal may refer to: * ''Marginal'' (album), the third album of the Belgian rock band Dead Man Ray, released in 2001 * ''Marginal'' (manga) * '' El Marginal'', Argentine TV series * Marginal seat or marginal constituency or marginal, in polit ...

Labour-held constituency of

, from where she was elected. This made her the first openly lesbian MP in the

, second "out" lesbian in the House of Commons, after

Angela Eagle Dame Angela Eagle DBE (born 17 February 1961) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wallasey since 1992. Eagle was born in Yorkshire and studied PPE at the University of Oxford, before working for ...

, 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 A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the ...

to Stephen Green, Baron Green of Hurstpierpoint, during his period as

Minister for Trade and Investment The Minister for Trade and Tourism is a portfolio in the Government of Australia, falling within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The position is currently held by Senator Don Farrell, sworn in as part of the Albanese ministr ...

from 2011 to 2013. 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 The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is a department of His Majesty's Government. The department was formed during a machinery of government change on 14 July 2016, following Theresa May's appointment as Prim ...

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

, 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 Roderick James Nugent Stewart (born 3 January 1973) is a British academic, diplomat, author, broadcaster, former soldier and former politician. He is the president of GiveDirectly, a visiting fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for ...

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

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 An NHS trust is an organisational unit within the National Health Services of England and Wales, generally serving either a geographical area or a specialised function (such as an ambulance service). In any particular location there may be several ...

, 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 The Prince's Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth y Tywysog) is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are u ...

and

Young Enterprise Young Enterprise is a national charity who specialise in Enterprise Education and Financial Education. Young Enterprise works directly with young people, teachers, volunteers and influencers to build a successful and sustainable future for all yo ...

. 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 ''Computer Weekly'' is a digital magazine and website for IT professionals in the United Kingdom. It was formerly published as a weekly print magazine by Reed Business Information for over 45 years. Topics covered within the magazine include outs ...

magazine.

Personal life

James lives in

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

and

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 Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''s "Pink List" of the 101 most influential British gay men and women in 2009.

References

External links

*
Margot James MP
''Official constituency website''
Stourbridge Conservatives
* * Liz Hoggard
Cameron's girl
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', 22 January 2006 * Brian Wheeler
Gays 'have a duty to vote Tory'
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

'', 30 September 2008
The IoS Pink List 2008
''

'', 22 June 2008, Margot James named no. 27
The IoS Pink List 2009
''

'', 28 June 2009, Margot James named no. 46 {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Margot 1957 births Alumni of the London School of Economics Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Councillors in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea English businesspeople English public relations people Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Governors of the London School of Economics Lesbian politicians British LGBT businesspeople LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom English LGBT politicians Living people People educated at Millfield Politicians from Coventry UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 21st-century British women politicians 21st-century English women Women councillors in England Free Enterprise Group