Education
James was educated at Rochester Grammar School and Thames Valley University.
Member of the European Parliament politician
James was educated at Rochester Grammar School and Thames Valley University.
She was a councillor on Waverley Borough Council until May 2015 when she lost her seat to the Conservatives. She previously worked in the healthcare sector for more than 30 years, setting up her own international consultancy business. James was elected to Waverley Borough Council as an Independent representing Ewhurst ward after falling out with local Conservatives in 2007.
She announced she was joining UKIP shortly after the 2011 election but refused to stand down and fight a bye-election.
She lost her seat in 2015 after standing as the UKIP candidate in the election. Her fellow UKIP councillors all lost their seats at the 2015 election.
James came second in the Eastleigh by-election, 2013 receiving 27.8% of the vote, an increase of 24.2% on the 2010 figure. She was elected to the European Parliament in 2014.
James was selected by North West Hampshire UKIP to be its candidate in December 2014. after being predicted a 1.2% chance of winning.
However, a few hours after making a speech at the UKIP Spring Conference in Margate, Kent, she stepped down from the Westminster candidacy "for personal reasons". James was ridiculed in April 2015 for saying that she "admired Putin" in an interview with Iain Dale.
Currently the party"s Home Affairs spokesperson, she has represented UKIP on the British Broadcasting Corporation"s Question Time, and has taken part in debates at the Cambridge Union Society.