An East Lancashire MP who has served as a minister under four Prime Ministers has been awarded a CBE by the King for public and political service.

Andrew Stephenson, the Conservative MP for Pendle, has been awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire title in the New Year's Honours list.

Mr Stephenson, 41, who lives in Colne, was first elected to represent Pendle in the 2010 general election.

He has served as a government minister since 2017, including a period as Conservative Party chair during the summer.

On July 19, he was also the 1,336th and final person to be sworn into Her late Majesty's Privy Council.

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Mr Stephenson said: “I am surprised and delighted to be honoured.

"This is an honour not just for me but for everyone who has supported me, especially my hard working team who have helped me resolve thousands of issues for Pendle residents over the last 12 years.

“To serve as a Member of Parliament is the greatest privilege of my life, but alongside that to have been able to serve as a minister continuously under four successive Prime Ministers has been a tremendous honour.

“From working to keep critical freight moving during the pandemic, to overseeing the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which has provided safety for more than 100,000 people, it has been incredibly rewarding to help shape government policy.  

“At all times I have worked hard to put the people of Pendle first, continuing to champion local issues within government.

“I am proud that in the past three years we’ve secured £25 million to help regenerate Nelson and £6.5 million for projects in Colne from central government.

"I’m delighted that we’ve secured more funding for the outstanding Nelson and Colne College and that the transformation of the derelict Brierfield Mills into ‘Northlight’ is almost complete.

“I’d like to dedicate this honour to all the incredible Pendle residents and groups I have the privilege to serve.

"From remarkable individuals to our local businesses, charities and community groups who do so much. They all help inspire me and keep pushing to secure further improvements for our area.”

Away from politics Andrew is a Community First Responder with the North West Ambulance Service and worked as a volunteer vaccinator at Blackburn Cathedral during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

His first ministerial appointment was in June 2017 when Prime Minister Theresa May appointed him to the Government whips office.

Under Prime Minister Boris Johnson Mr Stephenson served as a Foreign Office Minister and a Transport Minister, before he joined the cabinet as Minister without Portfolio and Chairman of the Conservative Party in July after Johnson resigned.

In this role he oversaw the Conservative leadership election, which saw Liz Truss elected Prime Minister.

Following this he was made Minister for Housing and Communities, in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.  Since October he has served as Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury.