40 Facts About Andrew Stephenson

Andrew George Stephenson was born on 17 February 1981 and is a British politician serving as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury since October 2022.

Andrew Stephenson served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Communities from September to October 2022.

Andrew Stephenson was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for HS2 at the Department of Transport at the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle.

Andrew Stephenson was Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio, attending cabinet, from July to September 2022, in the caretaker government of Boris Johnson.

Andrew Stephenson then went on to serve as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Communities between September and October 2022.

Andrew Stephenson was born on 17 February 1981 in Manchester, England to Malcolm and Ann Andrew Stephenson.

Andrew Stephenson attended Poynton High School, a state comprehensive school.

Andrew Stephenson was the first in his family to go to university and studied for a degree in Management Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, graduating in 2002.

Andrew Stephenson took part in the South Trafford College Super Chef competition, was awarded a bronze medal in the Northern Salon culinary competition and participated in the North West Regional Finals of BBC Junior Masterchef.

Andrew Stephenson joined the Conservative Party at the age of 16.

Andrew Stephenson served two terms on the National Executive of Conservative Future, and was the organisation's national deputy chairman from 2001 to 2002.

Andrew Stephenson was the chairman of the Royal Holloway's Conservative Future society, from 1999 to 2001.

Andrew Stephenson was a councillor for Macclesfield Borough Council from 2003 to 2007.

Andrew Stephenson was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Pendle in September 2006.

Andrew Stephenson was elected in the general election of 2010, with a majority of 3,585 votes.

Andrew Stephenson delivered his maiden speech in a debate on 'Building a High-Skilled Economy' on 17 June 2010.

Andrew Stephenson served as a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Youth from 2010 to 2013 He was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary, to Robert Halfon, Minister without Portfolio and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party in 2015.

Andrew Stephenson later became PPS to Minister of State for Security Sir John Hayes, and Minister of State for Policing Mike Penning.

Andrew Stephenson voted for the UK to leave the European Union in the 2016 UK Brexit referendum, campaigning with Vote Leave.

Andrew Stephenson was responsible for Sector Deals and launched the Tourism Sector Deal in June 2019.

Andrew Stephenson backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election and was his North West Regional MP Campaign Co-ordinator.

In July 2019, after the formation of the first Johnson ministry, Andrew Stephenson was appointed as Minister of State for Africa and International Development.

Andrew Stephenson was responsible for UK consular affairs policy globally, which included dealing with issues such as the major repatriation effort following the collapse of Thomas Cook in September 2019.

On 9 September 2019, during a debate on the prorogation of parliament, Andrew Stephenson engaged in an argument with Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.

In February 2020, during the first cabinet reshuffle of the second Johnson ministry, Andrew Stephenson was appointed as a Minister of State at the Department for Transport, responsible for HS2, the Transpennine Route Upgrade and Northern Powerhouse Rail projects.

Andrew Stephenson's appointment came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would appoint a Minister to "restore discipline" to HS2.

Andrew Stephenson's speech was welcomed by many supporters of the project including the Yorkshire Post, who said, "Stephenson's rocket will fire up HS2 at last".

In November 2021, the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands, the biggest ever government investment in Britain's rail network was unveiled and in March 2022, Andrew Stephenson confirmed that HS2 was supporting over 22,000 jobs.

On 19 July 2022, Andrew Stephenson was sworn in as a member of Queen Elizabeth II's Privy Council, becoming the 1,336th and final person, to be sworn into Her late Majesty's Privy Council.

Andrew Stephenson was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2023 New Year Honours for political and public service.

Andrew Stephenson maintains an interest in the case often raising it with the British and Pakistani Authorities.

On 28 June 2011, Andrew Stephenson proposed his first piece of legislation, The Bail Bill.

In September 2014, Andrew Stephenson was involved in setting up an All Party Parliamentary Group for Water Safety and Drowning Prevention, following the accidental death of one of his constituents.

Andrew Stephenson holds an annual Job Fair at Colne Muni and campaigned for a National Living Wage, which was introduced in 2016.

Andrew Stephenson successfully campaigned for action to be taken to tackle flooding on the M65, work that was undertaken in early 2020.

Andrew Stephenson has campaigned for more funding for local NHS services.

In March 2021, whilst working as a volunteer vaccinator at Blackburn Cathedral, Andrew Stephenson vaccinated Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Nigel Evans MP.

Andrew Stephenson has secured the visits of number of high-profile politicians to Pendle during his time as the MP.

Andrew Stephenson had then-Mayor of London Boris Johnson pulling pints in the Alma Inn in Colne in 2015.

Andrew Stephenson has spoken openly about how his own health problems, including a gangrenous appendix in 2014 and having his gallbladder removed in 2016 led him to become a volunteer community first responder with North West Ambulance Service, providing life-saving care before an ambulance arrives.