News / Politics
Norris to be blocked from standing again for metro mayor
Dan Norris will soon have to hang up his personalised hi-vis jacket after a major change in Labour’s rules about MPs having second jobs.
Norris will be blocked from running again to be West of England metro mayor due to him also being a member of parliament.
Delegates at Labour’s annual conference approved proposals to extend a ban on councillors remaining in their local government roles if they are elected to the House of Commons to other office holders, including mayors.
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It is understood the resolution received an overwhelming 80 per cent support.
Norris became elected head of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) in 2021 and would be up for re-election in 2025.
But at July’s General Election, he ousted Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg to become MP for the newly created North East Somerset & Hanham constituency, having been defeated by the former Tory government minister 14 years ago.
Norris previously said he would do both jobs “until at least May”, sparking criticism that he was taking two salaries for two roles that should both be full-time.
It is unclear whether he will have to resign as WECA mayor before the end of his term.
Previous rules allowed metro mayors of combined authorities to be MPs. Dan Jarvis, MP for Barnsley Central and later Barnsley North since 2011, was also the metro mayor of South Yorkshire from 2018 to 2022.
A Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour Party is committed to MPs focusing on being MPs and the rule change is about the principle of second jobbing, bringing mayors into line with leaders and councillors in the Labour Party rulebook.”
The process to select a new Labour candidate for the 2025 WECA elections starts in the next few weeks, with former Bristol cabinet member Nicola Beech already tipped to be a possible challenger.
Norris has been approached for comment.
Main photo: WECA
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