Andrew Stephenson

Andrew Stephenson
MP
Member of Parliament
for Pendle
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Gordon Prentice
Majority 5,453 (12.3%)
Parliamentary Private Secretary to The Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, Minister without Portfolio
Assumed office
29 May 2015
Personal details
Born (1981-02-17) 17 February 1981[1]
Manchester, England
Political party Conservative
Residence Colne, Lancashire
Alma mater Royal Holloway, University of London
Occupation Insurance broker
Website facebook.com/andrew4pendle

Andrew Stephenson (born 17 February 1981) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pendle in Lancashire since 2010.

Early life and education

Stephenson was born in 1981 in Manchester. He was educated at Poynton High School, a state-funded school, before going on to study at Royal Holloway College, University of London,[2] where he graduated with a degree in Management Studies in 2002.[3]

Stephenson became an active member of the Conservative Party at the age of 16.[4] He served two terms on the National Executive of Conservative Future and was the organisation's National Deputy Chairman from 2001 to 2002. He was also the Chairman of the Royal Holloway Conservative Future Society from 1999 to 2001.

Prior to being elected to Parliament, Stephenson worked as a self-employed insurance broker, running a small business in Greater Manchester.[5]

Career

Stephenson was a councillor for Macclesfield Borough Council from 2003 to 2007.[2] Originally elected aged 23, he was one of the first council "Youth Champions" in the country.[6]

Stephenson was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Pendle in September 2006.[2] He was a member of the Conservative Party's A-List,[7] a pool of candidates drawn up by party HQ with the intention of diversifying its MPs and MEPs. During his campaign at the 2010 general election, he was accused by the then-sitting Labour Party MP, Gordon Prentice, of trying to buy the constituency with funding from tax exile Lord Ashcroft.[4] In the election on 6 May 2010, Stephenson won 17,512 votes (38.9% of the total votes), defeating Prentice by a majority of 3,585 votes.[8] In doing so, he became the first Conservative to represent Pendle in the House of Commons since John Lee in 1992. Upon winning the ballot, Stephenson said that he was "absolutely delighted by the result" and "humbled to become Pendle's MP".[8]

Stephenson delivered his Maiden Speech on 17 June 2010 in a debate on building a high skilled economy.[9] He was appointed Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party, with responsibility for youth on 28 July 2010.[6]

On 12 October 2010 Stephenson led an adjournment debate in parliament on the murder of three of his constituents –the Yousaf family - who were killed in Pakistan on 20 May 2010, in which he criticised the Pakistani legal system for allowing the suspects to be released on bail.[10][11][12] Stephenson proposed a Private Members Bill to create a right of appeal against Crown court decisions allowing bail following the murder of his constituent Jane Clough by a man on bail[13] The prime minister subsequently confirmed that a government amendment in the Lords to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill would introduce the new right of appeal that Stephenson had proposed.[13]

Stephenson has also successfully challenged specific business regulations, after concerns were raised with him by Pendle businesses. On 14 June 2011, Stephenson led a Westminster Hall debate on new regulations requiring energy performance certificates for Holiday Lettings.[14] The government subsequently announced exemptions for holiday lettings.[15] In 2014 he challenged proposed changes to The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988[16]

Stephenson was involved in setting up an All Party Parliamentary Group for Water Safety and Drowning Prevention in 2014 following the accidental death of one of his constituents.[17]

He signed several early day motions in support of the funding of homeopathy on the National Health Service sponsored by Conservative MP David Tredinnick.[18]

Stephenson attracted headlines in 2011 when he intervened to support a train ticket inspector during a dispute with youths over an unpaid fare.[19]

In the 2015 General Election, Andrew Stephenson was re-elected with an increased majority of 5,453, polling 20,978 votes, 47.2% of the votes cast, the largest Conservative share of the vote ever in this constituency.

Following his re-election, Andrew Stephenson was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Rt. Hon. Robert Halfon MP, Minister without Portfolio & Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Andrew Stephenson MP". BBC Democracy Live (BBC). Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "Andrew Stephenson - Parliamentary candidate". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  3. ↑ Election highs for Royal Holloway alumni, www.rhul.ac.uk
  4. 1 2 Moseley, Tom (2010-04-29). "The fight to be next Pendle MP". The Citizen (This is Lancashire). Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  5. ↑ "Andrew Stephenson". The Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 18 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  6. 1 2 http://conservativehome.blogs.com/gazette/2010/07/andrew-stephenson-mp-is-appointed-as-vice-chairman-with-responsibility-for-conservative-future-and-c.html
  7. ↑ http://conservativehome.blogs.com/goldlist/2009/04/where-are-the-original-alisters-now-the-27-who-have-been-selected-for-target-seats.html
  8. 1 2 "Tories sweep to victory in Pendle". Craven Herald. 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  9. ↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm100617/debtext/100617-0018.htm#100617123001436
  10. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-11520790
  11. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/7750027/British-family-killed-in-Pakistan-in-revenge-killing.html
  12. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/13/british-woman-murdered-pakistan-shot
  13. 1 2 "Jane Clough murder: PM says 'strong case' to change law". BBC. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  14. ↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110614/halltext/110614h0002.htm#11061448000176
  15. ↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm111114/text/111114w0006.htm#11111517000511
  16. ↑ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm141125/halltext/141125h0002.htm#14112544000294
  17. ↑ Adams, Chris (25 September 2014). "East Lancs MPs set up new water safety group to prevent future deaths". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  18. ↑ Tredinnick, David (2010-06-29). "Early Day Motion #342 British Medical Association Motions on Homeopathy".
  19. ↑ "Andrew Stephenson MP tackles train troublemakers". BBC. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  20. ↑ http://order-order.com/2015/05/29/pps-reshuffle-in-full/

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Gordon Prentice		 Member of Parliament for Pendle
2010–present 		Incumbent
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