Achievements for Burnley (12 Highlights)
(not in order!)
Over the course of his Parliamentary term, Antony championed Burnley, driving investment into the town whilst also 'doing politics' in new and novel ways. You can see some of the things he is most proud of below, including schemes for investment and the way he engaged with those he was privileged to serve.
01
Pioneer Place
This town centre project has rejuvenated a former car park and brought a major new dimension to the leisure offering in Burnley, driving higher footfall and spend.
Working with Burnley Council, Antony was able to lobby government for preferential borrowing rates, and an additional £3.5m of funding needed to get the scheme off the ground, through the 'Getting Building Fund', as part of a focus on shovel-ready schemes to kick start economic activity as the UK came out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
02
Newtown Mill
With education and opportunity a major focus of Antony's during his term of office, he pushed extensively for the funding for this scheme. Delivered through the Government's 'Levelling Up Fund', which is bringing more than £32m of investment to Burnley, this transformation is seeing a derelict mill regenerated into the home of an expanded university campus for UCLan, able to accommodate thousands of students each year in fields including medicine, engineering and cyber.
03
Town-to-Turf
Also funded through the Levelling Up Fund, these public realm improvements have seen highways changes and pedestrian improvements along the economic corridor linking Burnley town centre, and Turf Moor (home to Burnley Football Club). It is hoped this will not only improve traffic flow, but also contribute to greater use of the town centre amenities by both home and away fans on match days.
04
Burnley College Expansion
Named as the country's top college in 2018 (according to the Government’s achievement rate 16-18 year olds), Antony worked closely with the management to create and deliver an ambitious expansion plan. This has seen more than £20m of additional investment secured over Antony's time in office, allowing for new facilities in sports, health, construction, engineering, employability and A-Levels.
The college also became part of the newly formed Lancashire and Cumbria Institute of Technology.
05
Padiham Flood Defence Scheme
Devastated by flooding on Boxing Day in 2015, the town of Padiham had been in dire need of a long-promised flood defence scheme. Antony made this a key priority in 2019 following his election win and worked with the Environment Agency and DEFRA to plug an initial funding shortfall, which allowed phase one of the scheme to be constructed (a total of £18m was secured for the scheme). This included flood defence walls and a flood gate, offering significant protection in the future. Phase two is now planned and ready to go once further funding has been secured.
06
Long Term Plan For Towns
To address long-standing structural problems in the town, Antony secured a further £20m of investment from the Government's Long Term Plan for Towns. This saw the establishment of a Town Board, and an investment plan drawn up following significant community engagement.
The inclusion of Burnley in the first tranche of towns to be brought into the scheme was marked by a visit by the th Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Burnley in October 2023.
07
Mock Parliaments & School Engagement
As part of his drive to improve education, build confidence in public speaking, and show young people across Burnley that politics is for them, Antony undertook a significant project to run mock parliaments across schools in the area. This saw hundreds of children take part, debating ideas whilst learning about Parliament and democracy from their current MP at the time.
This was a first for Burnley and is one of Antony's proudest achievements, contributing to him being as recognisable (if not more so) amongst children in Burnley as adults.
08
Coach Trips
Another first for Burnley, Antony organised multiple coach trips from the constituent to Westminster. With all logistics taken care of, Antony would provide tours to 40 residents at a time around the Houses of Parliament, as well as tours to other political landmarks in the area including the Supreme Court, Number 10 Downing Street, and Parliament Square.
Hundreds of residents benefited, including one coach trip put on specifically for local uniformed youth groups including the Air Cadets, Police Cadets, and Sea Cadets, as part of Antony's desire to support them and increase young people's engagement with politics more broadly.
09
Business Engagement
With Antony's maiden speech explicitly talking about his desire to support local enterprise, he made it his mission to visit, engage and back as many local businesses as possible. This included virtual roundtables with local firms and government; tours around the Houses of Parliament for visiting executives to support the 'soft diplomacy' of multinational groups; engagement with the Burnley Bondholder networking group; visits and meetings with hundreds of local businesses; and regularly raising issues with government on behalf of those who create wealth and jobs.
10
Constituent Engagement
Pledging to be Burnley's most visible and accessible Member of Parliament, Antony held hundreds of open surgeries in locations convenient for people, including supermarkets, parks, village halls, and community centres. These were open to all, with no appointment necessary, and advertised in advance.
As a result, no resident had to wait more than 2 weeks to bring an issue or viewpoint to Antony's attention in person, and a surgery had been held within 1 mile of every household in the constituency (apart from the most rural farms).
In addition Antony held online Q&As, open to all, every three weeks where he answered any and every question put to him. And he attended large gatherings to address issues affecting groups of constituents when required.
No one could say he hid from scrutiny.
In total, Antony and his team dealt with over 24,000 pieces of constituent casework over four and a half years.
11
Putting Burnley On The Map
From media interviews to Prime Ministerial visits, Antony ensured Burnley was known for as many positives as possible. In total the constituency received four Prime Ministerial visits in four and a half years - more than most other constituencies .
Antony was a regular contributor to shows on BBC Radio Lancashire, That's TV, ITV Grenada, and BBC North West.
He also regularly appeared in local newspapers, including the Lancashire Telegraph, had a weekly column in the Burnley Express, and a quarterly column in the county-wide and business focused Lancashire Business View magazine.
12
A Strong Voice In Parliament
Antony was a regular speaker in the House of Commons, and in the committees on which he served, standing up for residents and businesses across Burnley and advocating for the issues and views he held passionately.
He spoke on more occasions than his predecessors, and was known for making valuable contributions across the House.
Antony's Final Video Wrapping Up Four And A Half Years As Burnley's MP
To mark the end of his time as Burnley's MP, Antony held a 'Thank You and Farewell' event, at which he showcased this video. You can watch more of Antony's videos, including campaign videos and his contributions in Parliament by going to the YouTube page linked below, or his former website also linked below.