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Jake Mary was once one of the prime ministers closest allies.

Not only did they plot Boris Johnson's leadership bid together, they shared a close personal

connection.

Jake's wife Alice used to run Boris's Parliamentary Office.

So it was no surprise when he was asked to attend Cabinet in the job he said he'd always

wanted, Northern Powerhouse Minister.

What did come as a surprise was what followed.

The job was abolished, Barry left the government and went on to create a powerful backbench group,

the Northern Research Group, which aims to lobby, to harry the government, to stick to its

promise, to level up the country.

It's also been a year for him a personal heartbreak.

Jake Mary, welcome to Political Thinking.

Thank you for having me.

A huge amount for us to talk about, but we're talking on the day that you learnt that your

constituency, that your county Lancashire, has not escaped the top tier of coronavirus restrictions.

One of the reasons you set up that Northern Research Group, do you feel it was inevitable?

Are you feeling frustrated and disappointed?

Well, I think, unfortunately, given on the figures, as we've seen on this week, that it probably

was inevitable, but what I'm really keen for the government to do is to show us a route

out of lockdown.

People who run businesses in Lancashire all over this country are perfectly capable, as

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