Childhood: James was born in Coventry in 1958. Her father was a self-made businessman, her mother worked in a factory then became a housewife. She was sent away to Millfield aged seven. 'I never knew any different really ... but obviously it's a weirdly young age. I think times have changed now.' She attended the London School of Economics and worked in the wine trade afterwards.

Friends & Relationships: She is no militant gay campaigner, but she has always been open about her personal life. She is in a 10-year relationship with fashion stylist Jay Hunt,  co-host of the BBC makeover programme Would Like To Meet. As she has observed: 'You can't be outed if you're not trying to be undercover. I didn't want to be worried, looking over my shoulder the whole time.' She lives in London's South Kensington with her partner.

Work: Margot James has been called the most glamorous politician around. Much has been made of her blonde highlights, tailored suits and penchant for Prada handbags. She's a self-made millionaire who sold her PR company to media conglomerate WPP for £4m to fund her political career.

When David Cameron appointed her as party vice-chair with overall responsibility for women's issues just before Christmas, there was a predictable media furore. She was described as 'a Tory party wet dream', while the Mail barked that Cameron was 'trying to promote anything in a skirt', which only goes to show the level of misogyny women MPs face. But Cameron has made a shrewd appointment. James, 47, is one of the Tory modernisers who cares about green issues and the NHS, promising to safeguard the welfare of asylum seekers and end the party's under-representation of female MPs by introducing all-women lists.

She was a local councillor in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea until 2008. She is also the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for the highly marginal seat of Stourbridge at the next general election.

At the May 2005 general election, she was the Conservative candidate for the Holborn and St. Pancras constituency, coming third behind Labour's Frank Dobson and the Liberal Democrats' 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.

She was placed on the 'A-List' of Conservative Party candidates ahead of the next general election and was selected as the candidate for the Labour held constituency of Stourbridge in December 2006. Stourbridge is a key marginal and one of the Conservative party's target seats.

James is patron of the University College London Union Conservative Society.

Greatest Achievement: She is the founder of the Shire Health Group and is the Conservative party's first openly lesbian candidate

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