Jake Berry

| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable | honorific-suffix =

London, England for Rossendale and Darwen Boris Johnson Sir James Jacob Gilchrist Berry (born 29 December 1978) is a British politician and solicitor who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rossendale and Darwen from 2010 to 2024. He was Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from 6 September to 25 October 2022. Before this, he served as Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth from 2017 to 2020 in the governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

He was a member of the Conservative Party until he defected to Reform UK in July 2025.

Early life and education

James Berry was born on 29 December 1978 in Liverpool and privately educated at Liverpool College, before studying for a law degree at Sheffield University. He trained to be a solicitor in Chester and in the City of London, qualifying as a solicitor in 2003. He worked for a number of legal practices, specialising in planning law.

Parliamentary career

Berry was first elected as MP for Rossendale and Darwen at the 2010 general election, winning with 41.8% of the vote and a majority of 4,493.

In 2010, he was appointed Parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Grant Shapps, the Minister for Housing and Local Government at the Department of Communities and Local Government, following Shapps to the Cabinet Office in 2012.

In April 2013, the prime minister, David Cameron, asked Berry to join the Number 10 Policy Unit, headed by Jo Johnson. His roles in this position included advising the Prime Minister on housing, regional growth and local government.

Berry sponsored the Local Government (Religious etc. Observances) Act 2015, which gave councils the right to hold religious prayers at the start of meetings.

At the 2015 general election, Berry was re-elected as MP for Rossendale and Darwen with an increased vote share of 46.6% and an increased majority of 5,654.

From July 2015 until January 2017, Berry served on the Parliamentary Finance Committee.

In May 2016, it emerged that Berry was one of a number of Conservative MPs being investigated by police in the 2015 general election party spending investigation, for allegedly spending more than the legal limit on constituency election campaign expenses. However, in April 2017, Lancashire Police confirmed that no further action would be taken.

Berry was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.

At the snap 2017 general election Berry was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 50.8% and a decreased majority of 3,216.

Junior Minister

Following the 2017 election, Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Berry as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, making him the third Northern Powerhouse minister in the space of two years. In March 2018, he described campaigners who forced the aerospace firm BAE Systems to withdraw as a sponsor of a flagship arts festival in North East England as "subsidy addicted artists" and "snowflakes".

After Boris Johnson became prime minister, Berry was promoted to Minister of State, with attendance at cabinet meetings. He was appointed to the Privy Council the next day.

At the 2019 general election Berry was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 56.5% and an increased majority of 9,522.

He resigned from government in February 2020 after refusing a move to a ministerial office at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in a cabinet reshuffle.

Chairman of the Conservative Party

On 6 September 2022, following the Conservative Party leadership election, the new prime minister Liz Truss appointed Berry to her government. He joined the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio, and he was also appointed to the party role of Chairman of the Conservative Party.

Speaking on Sky News on 2 October 2022 about the approach the Liz Truss government was taking to enable households to afford their utility bills, Berry said that people could either cut their consumption or get a higher-paid job. He later apologised, describing his remarks as "clumsy".

Return to the backbenches

On 25 October 2022, Berry stood down as Chairman of the Conservative Party upon the ascension of Rishi Sunak to the premiership. Berry returned to the backbenches. In the 2024 general election, Berry was voted out of office by his own constituents and replaced as MP by Labour's Andy MacNae.

Post-parliamentary career

Following his defeat at the 2024 general election, Berry undertook employment as Chief Operating Officer for the public affairs consultancy Fullbrook Strategies.

In July 2025, Berry defected to Reform UK, stating that the party was "challenging the old order" of British politics.

Personal life

Berry lives in Rossendale and London. He married Charlotte Alexa in 2009. They divorced in September 2016. He has been married to Alice Robinson since May 2018. She was previously Boris Johnson's parliamentary office manager. The couple have three children. On 14 October 2022 it was announced that Berry had been knighted.

Notes

References

References

1. Berry, James Jacob Gilchrist, (Jake)', Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011; online edn, Nov 2011 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U251335, accessed 30 November 2012] {{Webarchive. link. (17 May 2020)
2. "Rishi Sunak – live updates: Jacob Rees-Mogg among departures as Sunak appoints new cabinet after warning of 'difficult decisions' ahead".
3. "Jake Berry MP".
4. Paul, Jacob. (9 July 2025). "Former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry defects to Reform UK". LBC.
5. Thorp, Liam. (9 August 2020). "The surprising number of Tory MPs from Liverpool and who they all are". Liverpool Echo.
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7. "Election Data 2010". [[Electoral Calculus]].
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9. Winnett, Robert. (24 April 2013). "David Cameron recruits Boris's brother for Number 10". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
10. "Local Government (Religious etc. Observances) Bill 2014–15". UK Parliament.
11. (8 May 2015). "VIDEO: Jake Berry retains Rossendale and Darwen seat for Conservatives".
12. "Election Data 2015". [[Electoral Calculus]].
13. "Rossendale & Darwen". BBC News.
14. "Jake Berry MP". GOV.UK.
15. (23 June 2016). "Election Expenses Exposed". Channel 4 News.
16. (27 April 2017). "Rossendale MP Jake Berry in the cleared in election expenses investigation". Rossendale Free Press.
17. (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator.
18. "Rossendale & Darwen parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
19. Lucy Roue. (7 July 2017). "I went to interview the Northern Powerhouse minister – but ended up in a room with secret documents". Manchester Evening News.
20. Perraudin, Frances. (2018-03-09). "Minister criticises 'snowflake' artists who opposed arms firm sponsorship". The Guardian.
21. (2019). "ORDERS APPROVED AND BUSINESS TRANSACTED AT THE PRIVY COUNCIL HELD BY THE QUEEN AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE ON 25TH JULY 2019". Privy Council Office.
22. "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll".
23. Schofield, Kevin. (2020-02-25). "Boris Johnson ally quits government after turning down Foreign Office job".
24. Beaney, Abigail. (3 February 2022). "Rossendale and Darwen MP would say 'yes, yes, yes' if asked to return to cabinet".
25. (7 September 2022). "New cabinet: Who is in Liz Truss's top team?". [[BBC News]].
26. (7 September 2022). "Prime Minister Liz Truss appoints Jake Berry as Minister without Portfolio". [[ITV News]].
27. Bulbul, Nuray. (7 September 2022). "What is a Minister without Portfolio? Jake Berry appointed Cabinet role". [[Evening Standard]].
28. Harrigan, Joe. (2022-10-02). "Outrage as East Lancs MPs says those struggling with bills should 'get a new job'". [[Lancashire Telegraph]].
29. (6 October 2022). "Tory chair apologises for telling struggling people to just 'get better-paid job'". The Independent.
30. "Rossendale and Darwen – General election results 2024". BBC News.
31. Crowther, Zoe. (6 July 2025). "One Year After The General Election: Where Are Former MPs Now?". [[Merit_Group#Subsidiaries.
32. (2025-07-09). "Ex-Conservative Party chairman Jake Berry defects to Reform UK".
33. "Statement of Persons Nominated".
34. "About Jake". Jake Berry.
35. Robinson, Jon. (20 September 2016). "Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake Berry in divorce from wife". Lancashire Telegraph.
36. Jacobs, Bill. (30 October 2018). "Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake thrilled with second baby son". Lancashire Telegraph.
37. (1 November 2020). "Jake Berry: 'I have one political job left in me . . . and it's to help the north rise again'". [[The Times]].
38. "Political Honours conferred: October 2022".