New Burnley MP welcomes Northern Powerhouse Minister to town

Mr Berry, the MP for neighbouring Rossendale, visited Turf Moor where he met with Antony and representatives of Burnley FC In the Community about the good work being carried out by the charity arm of the football club.

The visit was also an opportunity for Burnley's new MP to discuss his priorities with his senior party colleague over his priorities for the borough.

Mr Higginbotham, who became Burnley's first Tory MP for many decades when he was elected in December, said: "Jake's visit went really well. We heard about the good work being done by Burnley FC In the Community and how I could help in the future.

"Burnley Council's chief executive Mick Cartledge was also present. We discussed ways of working together in the future and I outlined my priorities to him and to Jake.

"A key priority for me is to see an improvement in our public transport system, particularly on the railways. We only have one train an hour between Burnley and Manchester which i would like to see increased.

"UCLan is expanding in Burnley so we need better rail connectivity which would also ease traffic congestion on our roads. My other priorities are to work with the council on bidding for funds to regenerate our town centre and to speed up the implementation of Padiham's flood defences."

The pair also met this week in Westminster to further discuss their priorities for East Lancashire.