James Gray
James Whiteside Gray (born 7th November 1954) was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Wiltshire in May 1997, and was re-elected in 2001, 2005 and 2010.
Political career
Before winning the constituency of North Wiltshire in 1997, Gray was a special advisor to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Howard, and to his successor John Gummer. His primary responsibility was to the Ministers of State for Housing, Local Government and the Environment from 1992-1995, when he became a director of the public affairs consultancy programme, the 'Westminster Strategy'. He also served as governor of two schools in Balham in the London Borough of Wandsworth and in 1994, and was elected as the Vice-Chairman of Tooting Conservative Association.
After his election to Parliament in 1997, he served on the Environment and Transport Select Committees and then as a Shadow Minister for Defence in 2001. He served as Shadow Minister for the Countryside from 2002-2005 and after the 2005 general election, he served briefly as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland.
In the 2010 general election, Gray was re-elected as the MP for North Wiltshire.
Education
James was educated at Hillhead Primary School and Glasgow High School, and then studied History at Glasgow University and Christ Church College, Oxford University. He worked as a graduate management trainee with P&O for a year.
