The Right Honourable Sir
Jake Berry
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office
6 September 2022 – 25 October 2022
LeaderLiz Truss
Preceded byAndrew Stephenson and Ben Elliot
Succeeded byNadhim Zahawi
Minister without Portfolio
In office
6 September 2022 – 25 October 2022
Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Preceded byAndrew Stephenson
Succeeded byNadhim Zahawi
Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth[a]
In office
14 June 2017 – 13 February 2020
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Boris Johnson
Preceded byAndrew Percy
Succeeded bySimon Clarke
Member of Parliament
for Rossendale and Darwen
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byJanet Anderson
Majority9,522 (19.5%)
Personal details
Born
James Jacob Gilchrist Berry

(1978-12-29) 29 December 1978 (age 45)[1]
Liverpool, England
Political partyConservative
Spouses
Charlotte Alexa
​
​
(m. 2009; div. 2016)​
Alice Robinson
​
(m. 2018)​
Children3
ResidenceRossendale
Alma materUniversity of Sheffield and College of Law
ProfessionPolitician
WebsiteOfficial website

Sir James Jacob Gilchrist Berry[1] (born 29 December 1978) is a British Conservative Party politician and former solicitor who served as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from 6 September to 25 October 2022.[2] He previously 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]

Berry has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rossendale and Darwen in Lancashire since the 2010 general election, when he defeated the sitting Labour Party MP Janet Anderson by a majority of 4,493 votes.[4][5]

Early life

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[6] and in the City of London, qualifying as a solicitor in 2003.[1][7] He worked for a number of legal practices,[1] specialising in planning law.[7]

Parliamentary career

Berry was elected in the general election of 2010 as MP for Rossendale and Darwen, beating incumbent Labour MP Janet Anderson, who had held the seat for 18 years. Berry overturned a Labour majority of 3,616 to win by 4,493 votes, an 8.9% swing to the Conservatives.[5][8]

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.[5][7]

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]

In the general election of 2015, Berry was returned as MP for Rossendale and Darwen with an increased majority of 5,654.[11] From July 2015 until January 2017, Berry served on the Parliamentary Finance Committee.[12]

In May 2016, it emerged that Berry was one of a number of Conservative MPs being investigated by police in the United Kingdom general election, 2015 party spending investigation, for allegedly spending more than the legal limit on constituency election campaign expenses.[13] However, in April 2017, Lancashire Police confirmed that no further action would be taken.[14]

Berry was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[15] Berry was again returned as MP in June 2017, but with a reduced 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.[16] 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".[17]

Upon the accession of Boris Johnson to the premiership, Berry was promoted to Minister of State, with attendance at cabinet meetings. He was appointed to the Privy Council the next day.[18] 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.[19][20]

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.[21] He joined the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio,[22] and he was also appointed to the party role of Chairman of the Conservative Party.[23]

Speaking on Sky News on 2 October 2022 about the approach the Government of Liz Truss 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.[24] He later apologised, describing his remarks as "clumsy".[25]

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.

Personal life

Berry lives in Rossendale and London.[26][27] He married Charlotte Alexa in 2009. They were divorced in September 2016.[28][29] He has been married to Alice Robinson since May 2018.[28] She was previously Boris Johnson's parliamentary office manager. The couple have three children.[30] On 14 October 2022 it was announced that Berry had been knighted.[31]

Notes

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

References

  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 Archived 17 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "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. ^ "Jake Berry MP". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Jake Berry MP". Westminster Parliamentary Record. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  5. ^ a b c "Jake Berry". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b c "Jake Berry". Conservative Party (UK)Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  8. ^ "Conservative gains in Lancashire". BBC News. 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  9. ^ 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. ^ "Local Government (Religious etc. Observances) Bill 2014–15". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  11. ^ "VIDEO: Jake Berry retains Rossendale and Darwen seat for Conservatives". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Jake Berry MP". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Election Expenses Exposed". Channel 4 News. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ Forrest, Adam (6 October 2022). "Tory chair apologises for telling struggling people to just 'get better-paid job'". The Independent. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated". Rossendale Borough Council. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  27. ^ "About Jake". Jake Berry. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  28. ^ a b 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.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ 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)
  31. ^ "Political Honours conferred: October 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 14 October 2022.

External links

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Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded byJanet Anderson Member of Parliamentfor Rossendale and Darwen 2010–present Incumbent Political offices Preceded byAndrew Percy Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth 2017–2019 Succeeded byHimselfas Minister of State Preceded byHimselfas Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth 2019–2020 Succeeded bySimon Clarke Preceded byAndrew Stephenson Minister without Portfolio 2022 Succeeded byNadhim Zahawi Party political offices Preceded byAndrew Stephenson Chairman of the Conservative Party 2022 Succeeded byNadhim Zahawi
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