Diane Martine James was born on 20 November 1959 and is a British politician who was a Member of the European Parliament for South East England from 2014 to 2019.
18 Facts About Diane James
2.
Diane James was briefly leader-elect of the UK Independence Party from September 2016 to October 2016, but resigned before formalising her leadership.
3.
At the time of her election to the European Parliament, James was one of three UKIP MEPs for South East England, before joining the Brexit Party in 2019.
4.
Diane James was born in Bedford in 1959, and was a councillor on Waverley Borough Council from 2007 until 2015, when she lost the seat to the Conservative Party.
5.
Diane James was elected to the European Parliament in 2014.
6.
Diane James resigned from the leadership of the party on 4 October 2016,18 days after being elected.
7.
On 21 November 2016, Diane James announced that she was leaving UKIP and would henceforth sit as an Independent.
8.
Diane James was born in Bedford in 1959, where her father was an engineer and her mother a housewife.
9.
Diane James spent three decades working in the health industry, where she established an international consultancy firm.
10.
Diane James was elected to Waverley Borough Council as an Independent, representing Ewhurst ward, after falling out with local Conservatives in 2007.
11.
Diane James announced she was joining the UK Independence Party shortly after the 2011 local elections, but said that she would not stand down and fight a by-election.
12.
Diane James lost her seat in 2015 after standing as the UKIP candidate in that year's elections.
13.
Diane James was elected to the European Parliament in the 2014 election.
14.
Diane James was the party's Home Affairs spokesperson, represented UKIP on the BBC's Question Time, and took part in debates at the Cambridge Union Society.
15.
On 4 October 2016, Diane James confirmed that she would not be pursuing the leadership of the party despite winning the leadership election.
16.
Diane James resigned her party membership on 21 November 2016, stating "it was time to move on" and that her relationship with UKIP had become "increasingly difficult", although she would continue to sit in the European Parliament as an Independent.
17.
On 8 April 2017, Diane James stated she would consider standing for a seat in the British House of Commons as a Conservative at the next general election.
18.
Diane James left the European Parliament at the expiration of her term on 1 July, five weeks after the 2019 European Parliament election in which she did not seek to be re-elected.