Dan Norris
Encyclopedia
Dan Norris is a British
Labour Party
politician who 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.
, where he read a Master's in Social Work (MSW). Dan is a former teacher and child protection officer having trained with the NSPCC
.
from 1994–96, and he is a member of the GMB Union
.
.
He contested the Wansdyke seat once more in the 1997 election
, and this time succeeded in taking a traditionally safe Conservative
seat by 4,799 votes, overturning a majority of 11,770 votes. Whilst Norris went on to increase his majority to 5,613 in the 2001 election
, the 2005 election
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 the Conservative's Jacob Rees-Mogg
.
During his time in parliamnet, 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.
During the parliamentary year of 2006/07, Norris was serving as a backbench MP. Despite this he had the 4th highest expenditure, for any Member of Parliament. In total, Norris spent £172,733: £4,271 was spent on centrally purchased stationary, £16,287 on the associated postage cost, and £22,110 as part of the "Additional costs Allowance".
As a backbencher, prior to taking on a PPS role in June 2006, Dan Norris had the highest voting record in the current Parliament of any MP - attending 97% of all votes however since then his voting record has dropped to 83%. Dan 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 UK Border police force; 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.
Norris was the only MP of any political party in the whole of the West Country
(and one of just 25 out of the 121 MP who voted on this bill) who voted for Freedom of Information laws to apply to MPs' allowances at the crucial Third Reading vote on this key issue on 18 May 2007. Norris has a particular interest in child safety and regularly campaigns against child sexual abuse
. He has co-written a free booklet on preventing child sexual abuse. He also co-wrote and produced a booklet aimed at giving practical advice to children about dealing with bullying entitled Don't Bully Me.
Following his defeat at the 2010 general election, Norris turned his attention to working for former Foreign Secretary David Miliband
in his ultimately unsuccessful bid for the Labour leadership.
Norris is an ambassador to leading children's charity Kidscape
.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician who was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Wansdyke
Wansdyke (UK Parliament constituency)
Wansdyke was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
from 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
until 2010. He was also a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Early life
Norris was educated at Chipping Sodbury Comprehensive School and the University of SussexUniversity of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
, where he read a Master's in Social Work (MSW). Dan is a former teacher and child protection officer having trained with the NSPCC
NSPCC
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is a United Kingdom charity campaigning and working in child protection.-History:...
.
Before Parliament
Norris was a councillor on Bristol City Council from 1989-92 / 1995-97 and Avon County CouncilAvon County Council
Avon County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Avon in south west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 1 April 1996 at the same time as the county. The county council was based in Bristol at Avon House and Avon House North...
from 1994–96, and he is a member of the GMB Union
GMB Union
The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom, and has more than 600,000 members. Its members are drawn from many sectors, with particular strength amongst manual workers in local government and the health service...
.
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, but again lost against the conservative incumbent, Jack AspinwallJack Aspinwall
Jack Heywood Aspinwall is a British politician. In the February 1974 and October 1974 elections, he was the Liberal Party candidate for Kingswood, but changed his allegiance and was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for the same seat in 1979...
.
He contested the Wansdyke seat once more in the 1997 election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, and this time succeeded in taking a traditionally safe Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
seat by 4,799 votes, overturning a majority of 11,770 votes. Whilst Norris went on to increase his majority to 5,613 in the 2001 election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, the 2005 election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
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
North East Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)
North East Somerset is a county constituency created by the Boundary Commission for England as the successor seat to the Wansdyke Parliamentary Seat. It came into being at the 2010 general election.- Boundaries :...
, but was defeated by the Conservative's Jacob Rees-Mogg
Jacob Rees-Mogg
The Hon. Jacob William Rees-Mogg is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for North East Somerset since the 2010 general election....
.
During his time in parliamnet, Norris was an assistant whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
from 2001 to 2003. In July 2007 he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to Foreign Secretary
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior member of Her Majesty's Government heading the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and regarded as one of the Great Offices of State...
, David Miliband
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
, a role he had previously performed for Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
Peter Hain
Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
. 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.
During the parliamentary year of 2006/07, Norris was serving as a backbench MP. Despite this he had the 4th highest expenditure, for any Member of Parliament. In total, Norris spent £172,733: £4,271 was spent on centrally purchased stationary, £16,287 on the associated postage cost, and £22,110 as part of the "Additional costs Allowance".
As a backbencher, prior to taking on a PPS role in June 2006, Dan Norris had the highest voting record in the current Parliament of any MP - attending 97% of all votes however since then his voting record has dropped to 83%. Dan Norris' voting records show that he is in favour of: crime reduction measures; a tougher line being taken against child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
; the smoking ban; the introduction of ID cards, rather than a UK Border police force; 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.
Norris was the only MP of any political party in the whole of the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
(and one of just 25 out of the 121 MP who voted on this bill) who voted for Freedom of Information laws to apply to MPs' allowances at the crucial Third Reading vote on this key issue on 18 May 2007. Norris has a particular interest in child safety and regularly campaigns against child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
. He has co-written a free booklet on preventing child sexual abuse. He also co-wrote and produced a booklet aimed at giving practical advice to children about dealing with bullying entitled Don't Bully Me.
Following his defeat at the 2010 general election, Norris turned his attention to working for former Foreign Secretary David Miliband
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
in his ultimately unsuccessful bid for the Labour leadership.
Norris is an ambassador to leading children's charity Kidscape
Kidscape
The London-based charity Kidscape was established in 1985 by child psychologist Michele Elliott. Its focus is on children’s safety, with an emphasis on the prevention of harm by equipping children with techniques and mindsets that help them stay safe....
.
External links
- Dan Norris official site
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Dan Norris MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Dan Norris MP
- Voting record at the Public Whip
- BBC Politics page