As part of a series on all Bristol mayoral short-listed candidates, Amanda Ramsay speaks to former MP and one time Bristol City Councillor Dan Norris.
Back in May 1997, Dan Norris was elected as Labour Member of Parliament for Wansdyke, north east Somerset. He still speaks with great pride, of securing the biggest increase in Labour’s share of the vote in the south west.
After that historic Labour landslide, Norris was re-elected in June 2001 with an increased majority over the Tories, then winning a third term of office at the May 2005 general election. He makes great play of where the Lib Dems came: “At all three elections, the Lib Dems finished a poor, distant third place.”
Boundary changes in 2010 changed things and the new north east Somerset constituency effectively became a Conservative seat, he explains. Since then he’s worked in media and communications, running his own business and becoming more involved with various charities, including Kidscape, who specialise in anti-bullying and the Snowdon award scheme, for students with disabilities.
Of the Bristol mayoralty, he has this to say:
“Our city has punched below its weight for decades. So much so that Bristol people, of all political persuasions, have become cynical about the prospect of change. It means that whenever the local media re-ignite debates about much-needed things like affordable and efficient public transport, an arena, and so on, nobody believes it can happen.
In many ways it’s this mindset that’s the challenge. Get that right, and progress on all issues can flow. We need a ‘can do’ Bristol, not the ‘can’t do’ city that too many people perceive.”
