Labour's Dan Norris works hard all year round to serve the people he represents in North East Somerset.

Dan grew up near Bristol and Bath and has lived locally all his life - now living in the heart of his constituency, in Pensford, North East Somerset.

Staying in touch

As a committed local representative, Dan holds surgeries, street stalls and coffee mornings in different parts of his large constituency most weekends. He's also often out-and-about talking to local people on their doorsteps in their own communities. Dan works hard to stay in touch with local concerns and no other west country MP has such a busy schedule of contact with constituents.

Dan's background

First elected as Labour Member of Parliament for Wansdyke on 1 May 1997, Dan gained the biggest increase in Labour's share of the vote in the South West. He was re-elected in June 2001 with an increased majority over the Tories. He won a third term of office at the May 2005 General Election. At all three elections, the Lib Dems finished in a poor, distant third place.

Dan is a former teacher and child protection officer. He has also written and lectured extensively on the prevention and reduction of violence. He is an Honorary University Fellow and used to be a member of Avon County Council and Bristol City Council, having won seats from both the Lib Dems and the Tories on those councils.

Working hard all year round

Dan has been active in a number of key areas since becoming an MP. Just a few of these are:

• Opposing the out-of-control expenditure on the Bath Spa disaster
• Banning hunting with hounds
• Child protection - his anti-bullying booklet and his publication aimed at helping parents better protect their children against paedophiles are widely regarded as the best in their field
• Compensation for people who worked in North East Somerset pits - summer 2007 figures showed over £3m in compensation had been awarded to Wansdyke's ex-miners

A champion of freedom of information (FOI), Dan was the only West Country MP who voted in the Commons against exempting MPs from FOI legislation (May 2007). To underpin the work he carries out on behalf of the people he represents he also publishes a contract with his constituents. He was also understood to be the first West Country MP to publish details of how much it costs to do his job as a busy MP.

In 2001 Tony Blair appointed Dan as an Assistant Government Whip - a position Dan held until he stood down in 2003 to spend more time focusing on constituency work.

In summer 2007 Dan was appointed to be Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, having carried out a similar role for Peter Hain when he was Northern Ireland Secretary - a role which saw Dan closely involved in the historic devolution agreement.

Dan works hard to balance his Westminster duties with constituency work. His first priority remains to his constituents. Please use the contact page of this website to get in touch with Dan.