Jake Berry

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The Right Honourable
Sir Jake Berry
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Official portrait, 2022
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Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office
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LeaderLiz Truss
Preceded byAndrew Stephenson and Ben Elliot
Succeeded byNadhim Zahawi
Minister without Portfolio
In office
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Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Preceded byAndrew Stephenson
Succeeded byNadhim Zahawi
Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth[a]
In office
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Prime MinisterTheresa May
Boris Johnson
Preceded byAndrew Percy
Succeeded bySimon Clarke
Member of Parliament
for Rossendale and Darwen
In office
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Preceded byJanet Anderson
Succeeded byAndy MacNae
Personal details
BornJames Jacob Gilchrist Berry
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Liverpool, Merseyside, England
DiedScript error: No such module "person date".
PartyReform UK (since 2025)
Other political
affiliations
Conservative Party (until 2025)
SpouseScript error: No such module "Detect singular".Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
Charlotte Alexa
​
​
(m. 2009; div. 2016)​
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Alice Robinson
​
​
(m. 2018)​
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Children3
University of Sheffield and College of Law
ProfessionPage Template:Hlist/styles.css has no content.
  • Politician
  • solicitor
WebsiteOfficial website

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Sir James Jacob Gilchrist Berry[1] (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.[2] Before this, he served as Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth[a] from 2017 to 2020 in the governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson.[3]

He was a member of the Conservative Party until he defected to Reform UK in July 2025.[4]

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.[1] He trained to be a solicitor in Chester[5] and in the City of London, qualifying as a solicitor in 2003.[1][6] He worked for a number of legal practices,[1] specialising in planning law.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8][6]

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.[9]

Berry sponsored the Local Government (Religious etc. Observances) Act 2015, which gave councils the right to hold religious prayers at the start of meetings.[10]

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.[11][12][13]

From July 2015 until January 2017, Berry served on the Parliamentary Finance Committee.[14]

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.[15] However, in April 2017, Lancashire Police confirmed that no further action would be taken.[16]

Berry was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[17]

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.[18]

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.[19] 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".[20]

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.[21]

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.[22]

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.[23][24]

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.[25] He joined the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio,[26] and he was also appointed to the party role of Chairman of the Conservative Party.[27]

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.[28] He later apologised, describing his remarks as "clumsy".[29]

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 lost his seat to Labour's Andy MacNae.[30]

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.[31]

In July 2025, Berry defected to Reform UK, stating that the party was "challenging the old order" of British politics.[32]

Personal life

Berry lives in Rossendale and London.[33][34] He married Charlotte Alexa in 2009. They divorced in September 2016.[35][36] He has been married to Alice Robinson since May 2018.[35] She was previously Boris Johnson's parliamentary office manager. The couple have three children.[37] On 14 October 2022 it was announced that Berry had been knighted.[38]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b As Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State from 2017 to July 2019.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e 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 accessed 30 November 2012 Script error: No such module "webarchive".
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Rishi Sunak – live updates: Jacob Rees-Mogg among departures as Sunak appoints new cabinet after warning of 'difficult decisions' ahead". Sky News. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Jake Berry MP". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Paul, Jacob (9 July 2025). "Former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry defects to Reform UK". LBC. London.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thorp, Liam (9 August 2020). "The surprising number of Tory MPs from Liverpool and who they all are". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Jake Berry". Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Jake Berry". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Winnett, Robert (24 April 2013). "David Cameron recruits Boris's brother for Number 10". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Local Government (Religious etc. Observances) Bill 2014–15". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."VIDEO: Jake Berry retains Rossendale and Darwen seat for Conservatives". Lancashire Telegraph. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Rossendale & Darwen". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Jake Berry MP". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Election Expenses Exposed". Channel 4 News. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Rossendale MP Jake Berry in the cleared in election expenses investigation". Rossendale Free Press. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Rossendale & Darwen parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Perraudin, Frances (9 March 2018). "Minister criticises 'snowflake' artists who opposed arms firm sponsorship". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ORDERS APPROVED AND BUSINESS TRANSACTED AT THE PRIVY COUNCIL HELD BY THE QUEEN AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE ON 25TH JULY 2019" (PDF). Privy Council Office. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF).
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Schofield, Kevin (25 February 2020). "Boris Johnson ally quits government after turning down Foreign Office job". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Beaney, Abigail (3 February 2022). "Rossendale and Darwen MP would say 'yes, yes, yes' if asked to return to cabinet". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."New cabinet: Who is in Liz Truss's top team?". BBC News. 7 September 2022. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Prime Minister Liz Truss appoints Jake Berry as Minister without Portfolio". ITV News. 7 September 2022. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bulbul, Nuray (7 September 2022). "What is a Minister without Portfolio? Jake Berry appointed Cabinet role". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Harrigan, Joe (2 October 2022). "Outrage as East Lancs MPs says those struggling with bills should 'get a new job'". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Forrest, Adam (6 October 2022). "Tory chair apologises for telling struggling people to just 'get better-paid job'". The Independent. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  30. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Rossendale and Darwen – General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  31. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Crowther, Zoe (6 July 2025). "One Year After The General Election: Where Are Former MPs Now?". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  32. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ex-Conservative Party chairman Jake Berry defects to Reform UK". www.bbc.com. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  33. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Statement of Persons Nominated". Rossendale Borough Council. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  34. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."About Jake". Jake Berry. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  35. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jacobs, Bill (30 October 2018). "Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake thrilled with second baby son". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  36. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Robinson, Jon (20 September 2016). "Rossendale and Darwen MP Jake Berry in divorce from wife". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  37. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Thomson, Alice; Swinford, Steven (1 November 2020). "Jake Berry: 'I have one political job left in me . . . and it's to help the north rise again'". The Times. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.(subscription required)
  38. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Political Honours conferred: October 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 14 October 2022.

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