FEISTY former Independent Waverley borough councillor Diane James was elected as UKIP leader at the party’s Bournemouth conference.

Mrs James told The Herald following her election that the “adversarial” nine years she had spent in opposition at Tory-dominated Waverley, for two of which she was the only opposition member, had been an “invaluable experience”.

Ward member for Ewhurst from 2006 to 2015, she served as an Independent from 2006 to 2013, and the only opposition member in the council for the last two years.

She switched to become UKIP borough councillor in March 2013, just weeks after famously beating the Conservatives into second place as UKIP’s candidate in the Eastleigh parliamentary by-election.

Mrs James led Waverley’s three-strong UKIP party, the official opposition in a council dominated by 53 Tory councillors until 2015, when she lost her seat to the Conservatives in the May elections.

2015 may have marked the end of Waverley’s UKIP opposition but the party had gone from strength to strength nationally, with Mrs James riding the crest of the wave. She was elected one of four UKIP MEPs for the South East in a landslide victory for the party in 2014

At the conference it emerged that she had secured nearly half the votes in the leadership contest after going up against four other hopefuls.

Mrs James said she had gained valuable experience at Waverley on Eastern planning committee and as the chairman of the environment overview and scrutiny committee, which she once jokingly referred to as “overscrew and mutiny” and believed was a more fitting title.

“Being an elected councillor provided me with invaluable experience of the world of politics,” she said. “I cannot say it was always positive or indeed pleasant but that is reflective of the adversarial nature that UK politics has become in this country.

“Despite being elected leader, I shall continue in my role as an elected MEP for the south east of England. My personal torch will be in ensuring delivery of true Brexit and making UKIP the opposition party in waiting.

“Many people will be aware of my background in the healthcare sector and I intend that UKIP take the lead in an innovative policy that addresses the UK NHS and healthcare service delivery across the country.

“The poor financial situation of the Royal Surrey County Hospital is indicative of that of trust hospitals across the country. Equally our local GP practices are under huge financial pressures which, as I have learnt, in the last year are now impacting on patient treatment. This cannot continue and hence, the NHS and healthcare service provision will be an area where I shall be taking a very high personal interest in terms of UKIP’s policy development.”