Biography

Born in Porth, Cllr James moved with his family to the Vale in 1956. His commitment to the area as a councillor began in 1979 when he was elected to the former Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council as member for the Rhoose ward, an area he has represented ever since. Cllr James has also served on Penmark Parish Council and Rhoose Community Council.

The modernisation of local government resulted in the Vale of Glamorgan Council adopting a "cabinet and scrutiny" model of decision-making in 2002. Cllr James led the 10-strong executive cabinet 1999 to 2006, which is the Council's main decision-making body, although any decision may be "called-in" by one of four scrutiny committees.

He is married to Roxana and the couple live in Rhoose.