1. Margot Cathleen James was born on 28 August 1957 and is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Digital and Creative Industries from 2018 to 2019.
23 Facts About Margot James
1. 2.
Margot James was Member of Parliament for Stourbridge from 2010 to 2019.
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The younger daughter of a self-made businessman, James was born in Coventry.
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Margot James is a graduate of the London School of Economics with a degree in Economics and Government.
5.
Margot James joined the Conservative Party aged 17, and chaired the LSE Conservative Association.
6.
Margot James worked in sales and marketing for her father's business, Maurice Margot James Industries, a haulage, waste management, and property group based around Birmingham.
7.
Shire Health was voted "Consultancy of the Year" three times in the Communique Awards for 1998,1999 and 2001, while Margot James was voted Communicator of the Year in 1997.
8.
Margot James had resigned from the Conservative Party after Margaret Thatcher was ousted as Prime Minister.
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At the May 2005 general election, she was the Conservative candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras constituency; Margot James was the first ever openly lesbian Conservative candidate to stand in a British general election.
10.
Margot James came third behind the sitting MP, Labour's Frank Dobson, and the Liberal Democrat candidate Jill Fraser.
11.
Margot 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.
12.
Margot James 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.
13.
From 2014 to 2015, Margot James served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to William Hague, the then Leader of the House of Commons.
14.
Margot James was opposed to leaving the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum.
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Margot 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.
16.
Margot 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.
17.
Margot James endorsed Rory Stewart during the 2019 Conservative leadership election.
18.
Margot James had the Conservative whip removed on 3 September 2019.
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Margot James served on the board of Parkside NHS Trust, and worked as a Mental Health Manager.
20.
Margot James 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.
21.
Margot James has worked as a mentor for The Prince's Trust and Young Enterprise.
22.
Margot James sits on the Court of Governors at LSE.
23.
Margot James ranked in the top 50 on The Independents "Pink List" of the 101 most influential British gay men and women in 2009.