Andrew Stephenson

Andrew Stephenson
MP
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
Assumed office
15 July 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May
Chancellor Philip Hammond
Preceded by Mark Spencer
Member of Parliament
for Pendle
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Gordon Prentice
Majority 1,279 (2.8%)
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 Official website

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 on 17 February 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] In September 2008, Stephenson climbed the Great Wall of China, having raised more than £5,000 for charity.[6]

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.[7]

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,[8] a pool of candidates drawn up by the party headquarters, 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.[9] 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".[9]

In the 2015 General Election, Andrew Stephenson was re elected, polling 20,978 votes, 47.2% of the votes cast, the largest Conservative share of the vote ever in this constituency. At the 2017 General Election, Andrew Stephenson MP was re elected for a third term in Parliament, polling 21,986 votes, 49% of the votes cast in Pendle, again increasing his share of the vote.

Stephenson delivered his maiden speech on 17 June 2010, in a debate on building a high skilled economy.[10] He was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party, with responsibility for youth on 28 July 2010.[7] 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.[11][12][13]

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.[14] 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.[14]

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.[15] The government subsequently announced exemptions for holiday lettings.[16] In November 2014, he challenged proposed changes to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988.[17]

Stephenson was involved in setting up an All Party Parliamentary Group for Water Safety and Drowning Prevention in September 2014, following the accidental death of one of his constituents.[18] He signed several early day motions in support of the funding of homoeopathy on the National Health Service, sponsored by Conservative MP David Tredinnick.[19]

Stephenson attracted headlines in June 2011, when he intervened to support a train ticket inspector during a dispute with youths over an unpaid fare.[20]

In May 2015, Andrew Stephenson was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS), to the Rt. Hon. Robert Halfon MP, Minister without Portfolio and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.[21]

In addition to acting as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, in March 2016, Andrew Stephenson was appointed to also act as PPS to the Rt. Hon Mike Penning MP (Minister for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Victims) and the Rt. Hon John Hayes MP (Minister for Security), replacing Chris White MP. In July 2017, death threats were made to Andrew Stephenson.[22] A man was convicted of these offences in January 2018.[23]

When Theresa May became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following the resignation of David Cameron, Andrew Stephenson MP was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Boris Johnson, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.[24] Stephenson supported Brexit in the 2016 European Union Referendum. [25] Following the 2017 General Election, Stephenson joined the Government as an Assistant Government Whip. Following the Government reshuffle in January 2018, he was promoted to Lord Commissioner to HM Treasury in the Government Whips Office. On 25th July 2018, he was again promoted to become a Senior Government Whip and Vice-Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household.[26]

References

  1. ↑ "Andrew Stephenson MP". BBC Democracy Live. BBC. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "Andrew Stephenson – Parliamentary candidate". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Election highs for Royal Holloway alumni, www.rhul.ac.uk
  4. 1 2 Moseley, Tom (29 April 2010). "The fight to be next Pendle MP". The Citizen. This is Lancashire. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  5. ↑ "Andrew Stephenson". The Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 18 May 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Colne politician's walk raises £5,000 for charities". lancashiretelegraph.co.uk. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Andrew Stephenson MP is appointed as Vice Chairman with responsibility for Conservative Future and CCHQ's youth outreach - Gazette". conservativehome.blogs.com.
  8. ↑ "ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog: Where are the original A-Listers now? The 27 who have been selected for target seats". conservativehome.blogs.com.
  9. 1 2 "Tories sweep to victory in Pendle". Craven Herald. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  10. ↑ Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons,. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 17 Jun 2010 (pt 0018)". www.publications.parliament.uk.
  11. ↑ "Commons debate on Pakistan killing of Nelson family". 12 October 2010 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. ↑ "British family killed in Pakistan in revenge killing". The Daily Telegraph.
  13. ↑ Moseley, Tom (13 October 2010). "British woman murdered in Pakistan was shot 100 times, MP says". The Guardian.
  14. 1 2 "Jane Clough murder: PM says 'strong case' to change law". BBC News. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 14 Jun 2011 (pt 0002)". www.publications.parliament.uk.
  16. ↑ "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 14 Nov 2011 (pt 0006)". www.publications.parliament.uk.
  17. ↑ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 25 Nov 2014 (pt 0002)". www.publications.parliament.uk.
  18. ↑ Adams, Chris (25 September 2014). "East Lancs MPs set up new water safety group to prevent future deaths". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  19. ↑ Tredinnick, David (29 June 2010). "Early Day Motion No. 342 British Medical Association Motions on Homeopathy".
  20. ↑ "Andrew Stephenson MP tackles train troublemakers". BBC News. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  21. ↑ "PPS Reshuffle in Full". Guido Fawkes. 29 May 2015.
  22. ↑ "Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson targeted by death threat". cravenherald.co.uk. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "Man found guilty of death threats to Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson". lancashiretelegraph.co.uk. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  24. ↑ "Complete Government PPS List". Guido Fawkes. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  25. ↑ "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. 16 February 2016.
  26. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/government-whip--2
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Gordon Prentice		 Member of Parliament for Pendle
2010–present		 Incumbent
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