Conservative Member of Parliament for North Wiltshire
James Gray was first elected Member of Parliament for North Wiltshire in May 1997, with a majority of 3,475. He was re-elected in 2001, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2017 when he increased his majority to 22,877.
Born in Scotland in 1954, he is the son of the late John R. Gray, Minister of Dunblane Cathedral and the 1977 Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and Dr Sheila Gray. He has three children – John (b.1984), Olivia (b.1986) and William (b.1991).
James was educated at Hillhead Primary School and Glasgow High School and later read history at Glasgow University and Christ Church, Oxford. Before entering Parliament, James’s career was in business. After Oxford, he worked as a graduate management trainee with P&O for a year. In 1978, he was appointed as a Shipbroker and Department Manager at Anderson Hughes Ltd and was made a Freeman of the City of London. In 1984, he moved to GNI Freight Futures Ltd as Managing Director until 1992. Simultaneously, he held posts as a Senior Manager at futures broker GNI Ltd (1989-92) and as a Director of The Baltic Futures Exchange (1989-91).