Dan Norris

Not to be confused withDean Norris.

Mayor Dan Norris MP
Norris in 2009
Mayor of the West of England
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 May 2021
Preceded by	Tim Bowles
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Environment
In office 9 June 2009 – 6 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Joan Ruddock
Succeeded by	Richard Benyon(Natural Environment, Water and Rural Affairs)
Member of Parliament forNorth East Somerset and Hanham
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 July 2024
Preceded by	Constituency established
Majority	5,319 (10.4%)
Member of Parliament forWansdyke
In office 1 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by	Jack Aspinwall
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1960-01-28)28 January 1960 London,England
Political party	Labour
Residence(s)	Pensford,Somerset
Alma mater	University of Sussex
Website	votedan.uk

Dan Norris(born 28 January 1960) is a BritishLabour Partypolitician serving as theMayor of the West of Englandsince May 2021, and Member of Parliament forNorth East Somerset and Hanhamsince 2024. He previously served as theMember of Parliament(MP) forWansdyke,largely of the same area, from 1997 to 2010.

Norris served in government as theParliamentary-Under Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Environmentfrom 2009 to 2010, and anassistant whipfrom 2001 to 2003. Norris was elected to Parliament for North East Somerset and Hanham in the2024 general election,defeatingJacob Rees-Mogg.

Early life

Dan Norris was born on 28 January 1960 in London to June Norris and David Norris.His mother was a Labour councillor who stood unsuccessfully as the candidate for theNorthavon constituencyin the1983 general electionand again in1992.His father worked as a sales manager and as a social worker.

Norris was educated atChipping Sodbury Schooland theUniversity of Sussex,where he completed amaster's degreein social work.He worked as a teacher and child protection officer, having trained with theNSPCC.

Before parliament

Norris was a councillor onBristol City Councilfor theBrislington Westward from 1989 to 1992 and from 1995 to 1997, and a councillor onAvon County Councilfrom 1994 to 1996.He is a member of theGMB trade union.

First Parliamentary career

Norris first stood for parliament in the constituency ofNorthavonin 1987, losing against theConservativeincumbent,John Cope.In 1992, he was the Labour candidate forWansdykein Somerset, coming in second place against the Conservative incumbent,Jack Aspinwall.He contested the Wansdyke seat again in the election of1997,and this time succeeded in taking it with a majority of 4,799, overturning a Conservative majority of 11,770 votes.Norris went on to increase his majority to 5,613 in the election of2001.

Norris has a particular interest in child safety and regularly campaigns against child sexual abuse,having co-written a free booklet on its prevention. He also co-wrote, produced and distributed a booklet,Don't Bully Me,giving practical advice to children across the United Kingdom on dealing with bullying.

Norris was anassistant whipfor theTreasuryfrom June 2001 to June 2003.In May 2006 he was appointedParliamentary Private Secretary(PPS) toSecretary of State for Northern IrelandPeter Hainuntil June 2007, then PPS toForeign SecretaryDavid Milibandto January 2009.In the reshuffle of June 2009, Norris entered government as a minister for the first time, becomingParliamentary Under Secretary of Stateat theDepartment for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs(Minister for Rural Affairs and Environment).

Norris had long campaigned againstfox hunting,supporting thelegislation outlawing it.On the final day of legal fox hunting, 28 February 2005, he was accosted byDuke of Beaufort's Huntsupporters in an incident atBadmintonwhich was shown live on regional television news.

The2005 general electionsaw his lead over the Conservatives fall to 1,839. In changes made by theBoundary Commission for England,the Wansdyke constituency was abolished at the2010 election.Norris stood instead for theNorth East Somersetseat which covered most of the same area, and was defeated by the Conservative candidateJacob Rees-Mogg.

Later career

Following his defeat at the2010 general election,Norris worked forDavid Milibandin his unsuccessfulbid for the Labour leadership.In May 2012, Norris was shortlisted to be the Labour Party candidate for theBristol mayoral election,but did not win the selection.In 2016 he was head of operations for theRussell Groupof universities,and he has run businesses.Norris was critical ofJeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party's handling ofantisemitism,stating in anop-edfor theBristol Post,"today’s Labour leadership seems to have become highly uncomfortable in opposing racism when it is directed at Jewish people".

In 2004, Norris was appointed to the board of the Snowdon Trust, a charity that supports students with physical disabilities.Norris is an ambassador for the children's charityKidscape.He is a trustee of theLeague Against Cruel Sports,becoming chair in October 2022.

Mayor of the West of England

Candidacy

Norris was selected as theLabour Partycandidate on 16 November 2020, defeating Bristol councillor Helen Godwin in a vote of local members by 1,611 votes to 1,558.During the election campaign, the leader of the Labour PartyKeir Starmervisited Bath to campaign with him. They were asked to leave a pub by its landlord, who opposed the use of lockdowns as part of the government's response to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

During the election campaign, Norris said that incumbent mayorTim Bowleswas the "only metro mayor who doesn't have more powers than when he started", and that if elected he would seek more money and powers from central government.He said he would establish a "Green Recovery Fund" to create 23,000 jobs by investing in "home retrofitting, tree-planting, flood and drought defences, and renewable energy".

Mayoralty

Norris was elected as the mayor of the West of England in the2021 mayoral election,a role which had previously been held by the ConservativeTim Bowles.Upon taking office, he became entitled to the style ofMayor.He credited his victory to the leadership ofKeir Starmer.He said he would supportNorth Somersetand parts ofSomersetjoining the combined authority, and he would seek additional funds for them.

In his first public meeting of theWest of England Combined Authority(WECA), Norris vetoed a proposal supported by the leaders of the three constituent councils to spend £100,000 reviewing how the authority functions and makes decisions.At a meeting in July, Norris and the council leaders rejected most of a climate action plan that the authority had been developing since 2019 as insufficiently ambitious, and agreed to begin developing a replacement.Also in July 2021, Norris launched new schemes to support the creative and food industries in the region.

In theOctober 2021 budget,the UK government allocated £540 million to WECA over a five-year period for public transport improvements, to predominantly be spent on improving bus services.This included £48 million for apark and ridescheme near theM32strategic corridor from South Gloucestershire to Bristol.The funding is from theDepartment for Transport's City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements scheme.

There was a dispute between WECA members and Norris over the mayor's powers,in particular a power to veto alternative proposals to their joint committee which includedNorth Somerset Council.The four local authorities’ monitoring officers, who give legal advice, stated the veto could arguably amount to maladministration.On 15 October 2021, the four council leaders did not attend a WECA meeting with the mayor, which meant over £50 million of spending decisions could not be made.Norris stated "I would agree that [my predecessor] gave into them, I am not prepared to do that... I’m not really bothered about procedures or legal arguments, frankly. I’m determined to get policies through and things delivered." A former non-voting member of WECA,Vice-Chancellorof theUniversity of the West of EnglandProfessorSteve West,was appointed as mediator in the dispute.In November 2021, after taking new legal advice, Norris agreed not to claim veto powers on decisions involving North Somerset.

In November 2021, the combined authority submitted a plan for a "seamless" public transport system with a single brand and payment system across buses and trains and across different operators.South Gloucestershire Councilasked for funding from WECA for a pedestrianisation scheme onThornbury's high street, which Norris threatened to withhold unless the council further consulted residents.In the same month, Norris signed WECA up to a charter committing to support staff diagnosed with terminal illness, and urged organisations across the West of England to do likewise.He supported a strike by theUniversity and College Unionin Bristol in December 2021.

Spatial Development Strategy

A major responsibility of WECA and the mayor is the development of a Spatial Development Strategy (SDS), which will guide major planning decisions in the area and thus development direction.A somewhat similar Joint Spatial Plan was previously being developed by the area's unitary authorities in a four-year process, and included building three new "garden villages". In 2019, the plan was withdrawn after thePlanning Inspectoratecriticised it as not "robust, consistent or objective".Consequently, producing a SDS for WECA to agree became a priority for the new mayor.The SDS covers the period to 2041, and was to have a 12-week public consultation before a public examination by thePlanning Inspectoratein early 2023.

In March 2022, Norris stated that the region'sgreen beltwas "not fit for purpose". He argued that there should be no overall green belt area reduction, but limited changes to extend urban areas in a few places should be permitted. At the time, there was a proposal by the owners of Bristol'sAshton Gate Stadiumto build 500 homes on the neighbouring green belt as part of a "sporting quarter" development.

The mayor and the leader of South Gloucestershire council disputed the amount of new housing proposed in WECA's forthcoming SDS, publication of which was deferred.In May 2022, Norris told the government that agreement of a SDS was impossible, blaming South Gloucestershire council for leaving discussions, which was denied by South Gloucestershire's leader.Subsequently, the three councils started developing their own individual Local Plans, which Norris had described as parochial.

Return to Parliament

In July 2024, Norris was elected to Parliament at the2024 general electionforNorth East Somerset and Hanham,defeatingJacob Rees-Mogg.

Bibliography

• Violence Against Social Workers: The Implications for Practice,Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1989 (with Carol Kedward).ISBN978-1-85302-041-4

External links

• Official website
• Hansard1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by Dan Norris
• Dan Morris's record as an MPonTheyWorkForYou
• Voting record at the Public Whip