Pendle Insider: PROFILE Pendle & Clitheroe Candidate #1: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative Party)

WHO IS ANDREW STEPHENSON?

Andrew Stephenson is the Conservative Party candidate for the Pendle & Clitheroe constituency in the 2024 UK General Election. He has been Pendle MP (before the boundary changes introduced this election) from 2010 until present.

Andrew has stood previously in General Elections and has won all of them.

UK General Election

2019 Pendle:

2017 Pendle:

2015 Pendle:

2010 Pendle:

PENDLE INSIDER Q&A:

1. Andrew, the Conservatives are expected to receive a drubbing at the election and all Tory seats look under threat including your own. You have been our MP for 14 years, what successes can you point to in Pendle that would give residents a reason to re-elect you?

"Over the last 14 years I helped secured millions of pounds for the regeneration of Brierfield Mills (which under Labour was the largest redundant mill complex in Lancashire), four brand-new primary schools, a new £9 million Burnley General Urgent Care Centre (I opposed Labour closing the A&E and still want it reinstated), the complete rebuild of Airedale Hospital and Colne’s new Health Centre. I’ve also been able to move the debate about reinstating the rail line to Skipton from this being called a “pipe dream” to an issue where there’s now consensus it would boost our economy and secured the study work that’s been done on the Colne bypass.

I’d also point nationally to employment being at record levels throughout the 14 years the Conservatives being in office, which alongside the creation of the National Living Wage is seeing more people locally in work and earning more too. That’s despite the difficulties we’ve had in recent years. I’m also proud of the Triple Lock supporting pensioners, the massive improvement in our schools compared to other countries and a range of other achievements."

2. Given the re-emergence of Nigel Farage and Reform UK surging in the polls, alongside Pendle & Clitheroe's historical right-wing voting, are Reform UK more of a threat to you than Jonathan Hinder's Labour.

"Only the Conservatives and Labour are in contention here in Pendle & Clitheroe. People are right to be frustrated about immigration, and you don’t have to be right-wing to worry either that current levels of migration are not sustainable or about how to get a grip on the small boat crossings.

I’ve supported the toughening of the immigration rules earlier this year that will see net migration fall this year and next. I want to see the Rwanda scheme given a chance to see if it can work at deterring small boat crossings, as we need to find new ways to stop this practice and the criminal gangs that are driving it. Labour have consistently voted against measures to control immigration."

3. One of the big projects your supported was the SELRAP reinstatement of the Colne to Skipton railway line, but despite campaigning, nothing has come to fruition and it was overlooked in the Levelling-Up projects funded by the cancellation of HS2-North. Why were you unable to get any funding and action on this, and how can you give confidence to residents to believe in you to 'get the job done' given this failure?

"Between my election in 2010 and 2019, when this scheme entered the Rail Enhancements Pipeline, significant progress was made in moving this project forward. Sadly the change of travel patterns post-pandemic has hit the business case for rail projects across the UK. The funding from the cancellation of parts of HS2 has not yet been allocated, and will be available in coming years to improve transport in the North West. I’ve been in touch with Transport for the North and Lancashire County Council to press the case for the Colne to Skipton line reinstatement, and as a long-standing patron of SELRAP remain firmly committed to this project."

4. Pendle is a well-known deprived area, and a Labour advert citing figures from the ONS and DWP, claims Pendle's child poverty is double the national average, at 43%. As MP for Pendle for 14 years this would have happened on your watch. How can you justify the poverty children in Pendle are facing and what can you honestly do about it?

"The cost-of-living crisis has been hard but anyone who believes poverty is worse now than it was in the depths of the financial crisis Labour left us with has a short memory. Since then, employment is up and the minimum wage been made much more rewarding, along with cuts to Income Tax and National Insurance that have directly benefitted families working on lower incomes. There are methodological problems with the data too.

That said, we know parts of Pendle have for a long time missed out on the economic growth other parts of the country have experienced. That’s why I was so supportive of Boris Johnson’s Levelling Up Agenda and fought so hard against some local opposition for the funding to regenerate Brierfield Mills. In the past few years, I’ve secured £70 million from the government for Pendle. Much of this funding has been focused on Nelson through the Towns Deal, and I think most in Pendle would recognise is where the biggest challenges we face are."

5. Immigration is key point for many voters on the right and the Conservatives have failed to keep their promises from past elections to reduce immigration. More people in the country logically puts more strain on public services and facilities. What are you going to do to address high immigration levels and excessive demand on public services locally?

"I share the frustration about immigration and accept the Conservative’s record isn’t good enough and doesn’t match some of the promises that have been made. Whoever ends up in government after this election must do better at bringing net migration down, tackle illegal migration and speed up the asylum system.

There have been reforms to the migration rules that come in earlier this year that will bring net migration down, expected to cut numbers by 300,000, which I have supported. We also do need to test the Rwanda scheme to see if it can work as the deterrent needed to stop the small boat crossings. Some people are critical of the scheme before it’s even been tried and it’s clear we have to try new ways to deal with the problem is we are going to actually solve it."

6. The Pendle workforce is heavily blue-collar personnel, and white-collar employees struggle to find work in the area, leading to a 'brain drain' of the brightest people moving elsewhere. What will you do to help diverify the job offerings in the area and encourage white-collar companies to invest themselves in the area?

"I’ve worked closely with local businesses to understand their needs and support their growth. We have seen record levels of employment, which is important and will be allowing more people to develop workplace skills and experience.

However, we shouldn’t be apologetic about our local economy or about ‘blue-collar’ work. The best jobs in Pendle are advanced manufacturing jobs like those I’ve fought to protect at Rolls-Royce in Barnoldswick and the supply chain it supports. These are challenging, highly skilled and well-paid not to mention vital for our country’s economic security. Given we’re in the middle of a technological revolution, it’s those high skill blue-collar jobs we need just as much as white-collar ones. We can’t compete with the economy of a cities like Manchester of Leeds but shouldn’t feel we have to, to build a thriving local economy.

That said projects like the regeneration of Brierfield Mills, has provided tech businesses with attractive premises at much cheaper rents than you can find in the big cities and we need to look at other opportunities like this which can help diversify our local economy."

7. Low-level crime (such as burglaries, ASB and shoplifting) is rife in Pendle and the police seem under-resourced to be able to deal with the number of incidents and therefore many victims of crime are being left with just an incident number but no police investigation or even a culprit being caught. The revolving door of Police Inspectors in Pendle does not help with a long-term plan to deal with issues. There has also been a Conservative Police & Crime Commissioner but the problems are still present. What will you do to ensure local police investigate crimes and victims of low level incidents are still attended to?

"We have had a high turnover of lead Inspectors which isn’t ideal. However, there are now more police than ever before so I wouldn’t accept that they are under-resourced. Recruiting 20,000 new police officers was a manifesto commitment from 2019, and it has been met.

Under the Conservative Police & Crime Commissioner, Colne was identified as an anti-social behaviour blackspot and we are getting extra police resource that’s has a positive impact. It’s about more than the police though. I work closely with the Colne Youth Action Group for example, who are creating more opportunities for younger people.

The government also launched its Retail Crime Action Plan last year, which has seen an increase in the number of people charged for shoplifting. We must get back to a zero-tolerance approach.

I am also supportive of reopening the front desk at Barnoldswick’s police station, closed under Labour. Labour closed Clitheroe’s police station, which was reopened under the Conservative Police & Crime Commissioner and is now open 24/7."

8. The economy is stagnant and is being propped up by high immigration, and birth rates are below replacement level. What is the Conservative plan to get the economy moving while reducing our reliance on immigration?

"The economy grew strongly in the most recent quarter. However, I think we all know the last 20 years has been a punishing time for the entire Western economy with the financial crash, pandemic and rise of China. We also are seeing our population grow older, with a smaller proportion of people being of working age. These are huge challenges.

For me, the key is to get our education system right so that we are providing British businesses with the skills and people they need to compete in the modern economy. We’ve seen that happen under the Conservatives, with our schools improving measurably against those in other countries, the move to T-Levels (technical equivalents to A-Levels) pioneered by the excellent Nelson & Colne College and now the focus on moving people away from university degrees that won’t give them the chance for a rewarding career. Locally, businesses are working together with skills providers now and that’s something we have to build on for the sake of our economy and the future generation of British workers."

9. What are your top 5 priorities?

Improving our regional transport infrastructure
Securing even more investment for our local NHS
Supporting our schools to improve even more
Protecting our countryside from inappropriate new housing developments
Getting our migration system under control

ANDREW'S TIME AS PENDLE MP:

"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 (Department of Health and Social Care) and previously Minister of State in the Department for Transport, responsible for the delivery of HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and the transpennine route upgrade. He has also 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."