Dan Norris

Dan Norris (born 28 January 1960) is a British Labour Party politician. He is Labour candidate for the West of England Mayor election,[1] scheduled for May 2021. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wansdyke from 1997 until 2010. He was also a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dan Norris
Member of Parliament
for Wansdyke
In office
1 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byJack Aspinwall
Succeeded byJacob Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset)
Personal details
Born (1960-01-28) 28 January 1960
London, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Sussex
Websitewww.dannorris.org.uk

Norris is the Labour candidate in the 2021 West of England mayoral election.

Early life

Norris was educated at Chipping Sodbury Comprehensive School and the University of Sussex, where he read a Master's in Social Work (MSW).[2] He is a former teacher and child protection officer having trained with the NSPCC.

Before parliament

Norris was a councillor on Bristol City Council[3] from 1989 to 1992, as well as from 1995 to 1997, and Avon County Council from 1994 to 1996,[4] and he is a member of the GMB Union.[5]

Parliamentary career

Norris first stood for parliament in the constituency of Northavon in 1987, losing against the Conservative incumbent, Sir John Cope. In 1992, he was the Labour candidate for Wansdyke, leapfrogging the Liberal Democrats to take Labour from third to second place against the Conservative incumbent, Jack Aspinwall.

He contested the Wansdyke seat once more in the election of 1997, and this time succeeded in taking a traditionally safe Conservative seat by 4,799 votes, overturning a majority of 11,770 votes.[4] Whilst Norris went on to increase his majority to 5,613 in the election of 2001, the election of 2005 saw his lead over the Conservatives fall to 1,839. Due to changes made by the Boundary Commission for England, the Wansdyke constituency was abolished at the 2010 election. Norris stood instead for North East Somerset, but was defeated by Jacob Rees-Mogg (C).

During his time in Parliament, Norris was an assistant whip from 2001 to 2003. In July 2007, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, a role he had previously performed for Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain. In the reshuffle of June 2009 Norris entered the Government as a minister for the first time, becoming Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

As a backbencher, prior to taking on a PPS role in June 2006, Norris had the highest voting record of any MP, attending 97% of all votes.[6]

Norris' voting records show that he is in favour of: crime reduction measures; a tougher line being taken against child sexual abuse; the smoking ban; the introduction of ID cards, rather than a border police force in the United Kingdom; introducing additional GP hours to allow patient access during evenings and at weekends, patient choice of hospital, and cutting NHS waiting list times; introducing foundation hospitals; student top up fees; anti terrorism laws and migration controls; the Iraq war; not having an investigation into the Iraq war; replacing trident; the hunting ban and animal welfare measures; and gay rights.[7]

Norris was one of just 25 out of the 121 MPs who voted for the Freedom of Information laws and supporting its application to MPs' allowances at the Third Reading vote on 18 May 2007.[8] 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 aimed at giving practical advice to children across the United Kingdom about dealing with bullying entitled Don't Bully Me.[9]

Later career

Following his defeat at the general election of 2010, Norris turned his attention to working for former Foreign Secretary David Miliband in his ultimately unsuccessful bid for the Labour leadership.[10] In May 2012, Norris was shortlisted to be the Labour Party candidate for Mayor of Bristol, but did not win the selection.[11]

Norris has been very critical of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party's handling of antisemitism, stating in an op-ed for the Bristol Post, "today’s Labour leadership seems to have become highly uncomfortable in opposing racism when it is directed at Jewish people."[12]

Norris is an ambassador for the children's charity Kidscape.[13][14] In 2004, Norris was appointed to the board of the Snowdon Trust, a charity that supports students with physical disabilities.[10]

He is the Labour candidate for the 2021 West of England mayoral election.

Bibliography
  • Violence Against Social Workers: The Implications for Practice, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1989 (with Carol Kedward). ISBN 978-1-85302-041-4

References
  1. Rodgers, Sienna. "Dan Norris selected as Labour's West of England mayoral candidate". LabourList. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  2. "NORRIS, Dan". Who's Who 2010 online edn. Oxford University Press. November 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  3. "Bristol City Council Election Results for 4 May 1995 - Brislington West". Bristol City Council. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  4. White, Michael (28 December 2000). "Labour roots in a rural Tory setting". Special report: elections 2000. The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  5. "GMB MP's". GMB Union. Archived from the original on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  6. "Archive.org record of www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/dan_norris/wansdyke for June 2006". Archived from the original on 29 June 2006.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/dan_norris/wansdyke#votingrecord Archived 29 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Dan Norris's vote on the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill – Third Reading – 18 May 2007 at 13:46". The Public Whip. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
  9. "Council's irresponsible and dangerous approach to bullying slammed by child campaigning West MP". Kidscape. 23 November 2005. Archived from the original on 17 April 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  10. "Our Board - Dan Norris". Snowdon Trust. 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  11. Amanda Ramsay (25 May 2012). "Profile of Labour's candidates for the Bristol mayoralty: Dan Norris". Labour Uncut. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  12. Norris, Dan (13 November 2018). "My shock and horror at Labour's antisemitism - former Bristol MP". Bristol Post. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  13. "Kidscape Staff, Trustees, Patrons, Volunteers". Kidscape. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  14. "Management, patrons and ambassadors". Kidscape. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Jack Aspinwall		 Member of Parliament for Wansdyke
1997 – 2010		 Succeeded by
Jacob Rees-Mogg
(as MP for North East Somerset)
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