Background

A solicitor by trade, Jake Berry completed his training contract in the City of London before moving back to the North West to work as an assistant for a law firm in Manchester, specialising in commercial property, social housing and private finance initiatives.

Political Career

"Berry was elected as the MP for Rossendale and Darwen, in the North West of England, in 2010. He quickly made a name for himself as a champion of regional development, particularly in the North of England. In 2013, he was asked by the-then Prime Minister David Cameron to join the Number 10 Policy Unit to focus on housing, regional growth and local government.

In 2017, he was appointed Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth – a role which, following the election of Boris Johnson as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister, saw him attend Cabinet. He later resigned from the frontbench, refusing to take a role in the Foreign Office as part of Johnson’s second reshuffle, instead founding and chairing the Northern Research Group of Conservative MPs – a powerful collection of northern-based Tory MPs seeking to represent the region’s interests in the House of Commons. He returned to the Cabinet in September 2022, being appointed Chairman of the Conservative Party. In this role he will be responsible for the Party’s campaigning arm."

View on portfolio

"Berry’s appointment likely reflects the new Prime Minister’s need to connect with Conservative voters in the North of England, which were so vital to her predecessor’s immense success at the 2019 General Election. In that sense, he should be well placed, with strong views on both the value of the North to the United Kingdom’s fortunes, but also on the need for the Government to deliver for those that live in those regions.

Aware of the wider need to appeal to regions across the country, however, including in the South West where the Conservatives are facing strong pressure from the Liberal Democrats, Berry has committed to 'campaigning across the country'."