Andrew Stephenson lives in Colne and has advice centres in Barnoldswick and Nelson.
First elected in 2010, Andrew was re-elected in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 General Elections, with a higher number of votes and share of the vote each time. In the EU Referendum in 2016, Andrew voted Leave, along with 63% of Pendle residents.
During his time in Parliament Andrew has held six Ministerial roles, in five different government departments. He is currently Minister of State in the Department for Transport, responsible for the delivery of HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and the transpennine route upgrade. He has previously served as Minister of State in the Foreign Office & Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development 2019-2020. He served as Business and Industry Minister in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in 2019 and held three different roles in the Government Whips Office 2017-2019. Before becoming a Minister, Andrew served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Boris Johnson, as Foreign Secretary 2016-2017.
A regular participant in House of Commons debates, Andrew has achieved some notable successes. Following the murder of his constituent, Jane Clough, in 2010 by her partner who was out on bail, Andrew proposed a Private Members Bill to create a right of appeal against Crown Court bail decisions. Working with Jane’s parents, John and Penny Clough MBE, Andrew was successful in getting the law changed and this additional safeguard was introduced in 2012.
As a former small businessman, Andrew has put jobs and employment at the top of his agenda. Andrew holds an annual Job Fair at Colne Muni and campaigned for a National Living Wage, which was introduced in 2016. He has long championed the regeneration of Brierfield Mills, securing millions of pounds from the Government to bring the site into public ownership and enable its £32 million transformation into ‘Northlight’. In 2019 Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Theresa May visited Pendle to open the £4.5 million ‘Leisure Box’ which is part of the redevelopment.
As a former Vice Chairman of the All Party Aerospace Group, Andrew has been a vocal champion of the Aerospace Sector and major local employers, like Rolls-Royce in Barnoldswick, which announced a £50 million investment in Pendle during 2016. In 2017, Andrew secured a further £4 million of Government funding to expand the Lomeshaye Industrial Estate, the largest employment site in Pendle, creating an additional 1,100 full-time jobs. In 2018 Andrew secured a fully funded study into re-opening the Colne-Skipton railway line, something he has championed since his election. In 2019, it was announced that Nelson would be one of the first towns to benefit from a ‘Town Deal’ with up to £25 million of funding to support regeneration.
Andrew has volunteered as a Community First Responder with the North West Ambulance Service since 2014 and works hard to support our NHS. He has consistently argued for Burnley Hospital’s A&E, which was closed by Labour in 2007, to be re-opened and helped secure a new £9 million Urgent Care Centre at the Hospital, which opened in 2014. Following this Andrew secured a further £15.6 million for the Phase 8 development of Burnley General which opened in 2019. Andrew’s campaigning on Health issues has also seen a new £4 million Health Centre in Colne and a new £6.3 million A&E at Airedale Hospital, both of which opened in 2014.
Education and skills are also very close to Andrew’s heart and he has served as a School Governor at Whitefield Infant School in Nelson since 2009. Thanks to the Conservatives, the outstanding Nelson & Colne College has seen several million pounds invested in its facilities, whilst West Craven High has undergone a £6.2million facelift and, in addition, four new primary school buildings have been constructed.