Steven J. Norris (born May 24, 1945 in Liverpool) is a British Conservative politician. He was the official Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in 2000 and 2004, reducing the gap between Mayor Livingstone and himself and attracting sufficient second preference votes to achieve 45% of the vote on the final ballot in 2004. is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... The Conservative Party, officially though less commonly known as the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... This article is about the elected mayor of Greater London. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A former Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party, he was chair of the transport working group in Conservative Party leader David Cameron's Quality of Life Commission. For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Dave Cameron. ...

Early life and career

Steven Norris attended the famous and well-respected grammar school, Liverpool Institute for Boys from 1956 to 1963, a prefect and in his last year Head Boy. He took an open Exhibition in Social Studies and graduated from Worcester College, Oxford University, where he was a member of the Labour club. After graduating he pursued a career in the engineering and motor industries and entered politics when he was elected on to Berkshire County Council in 1977. The Liverpool Institute for Boys was an all-boys grammar school in the English port city of Liverpool. ... College name Worcester College Collegium Vigorniense Named after Sir Thomas Cookes, Worcestershire Established 1714 Sister College St Catharines College Provost Richard Smethurst JCR President Minesh Tanna Undergraduates 408 MCR President Tom Marshall Graduates 167 Homepage Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in... The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... In the British Isles, a county council is a council that governs a county. ...

Parliamentary and ministerial career

He became the Member of Parliament for Oxford East in 1983. After narrowly losing that seat in 1987, he re-entered the House of Commons at a by-election for Epping Forest in 1988. He served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary for William Waldegrave at the Department of Environment, Nicholas Ridley as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Kenneth Baker as Home Secretary before being promoted to Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport and Minister for Transport in London by John Major in 1992, where he was responsible for the Jubilee Line Extension, the largest extension of the London Underground network to date. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ... Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, (Conservative) since May 5, 2005 Members 659 Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... Epping Forest is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a junior role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament (MP). ... William Arthur Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill, PC (born August 15, 1946), educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford and now a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford is a British Conservative politician who served in the Cabinet from 1990 until 1997. ... Nicholas Ridley (February 17, 1929 - March 4, 1993) was a British politician. ... Kenneth Baker Kenneth Wilfrid Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking, CH, PC, (born November 3, 1934), is a British politician, and former Conservative MP. Son of a civil servant, he was educated at Hampton Grammar school between 1946 and 1948 and thereafter at St Pauls School, London and Magdalen College... For other persons named John Major, see John Major (disambiguation). ... The London Underground is a rapid transit system that serves a large part of Greater London and some neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. ...

Norris became known in particular for his interest in public transport. He is, or has been, Chairman of the National Cycling Strategy Board, Director General of the Road Haulage Association and President of the Motor Cycle Industry Association and a patron of the cyclists charity, Sustrans and of the Campaign for Better Transport (UK) Trust^[1]. Mass transit redirects here. ... Canal boat decked in Sustrans logo Sustrans is a British charity which promotes sustainable transport. ... The Campaign for Better Transport was founded in 1972 as Transport 2000. In its role as a prominent environmental transport campaign group, the organisation claims to be concerned with transport that improves our quality of life and reduces our environmental impact.[1] Campaign for Better Transport actively promotes greater use...

Personal Life

Twice married, and the father of three children, Norris's colourful private life has been well reported in the UK tabloids. In 1993 stories circulated of several previous mistresses, although he claimed this had taken place over a period of 25 years. This earned him the nickname of "Shagger Norris" in some quarters.^[2]Despite this he remained as a minister largely because he was popular with colleagues and was highly regarded by his officials.

London Mayoral bids

In 1996 he published his autobiography 'Changing Trains' in which he first expressed an interest in running to be Mayor of London. He stood down from Parliament at the 1997 General Election to pursue business interests. This article is about the elected mayor of Greater London. ... The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997. ...

2000

In 1999, Norris was pitted against writer Jeffrey Archer in the race to become Tory candidate for mayor of London. The battle was bitterly fought with Norris at one point remarking to a Tory colleague that he would never support Archer "alive or dead".^[3] Archer was selected, but withdrew in 1999 after it was revealed that he had committed perjury in a libel case. Archer was subsequently convicted and imprisoned. Norris was selected as the Conservative party candidate in a ballot of Conservative Party members in London at the end of that year. In the Mayoral election itself, he came in second with 42% in the final round, losing to Labour candidate Ken Livingstone. Not to be confused with Geoffrey Archer or Baron Archer of Sandwell. ... Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is the outgoing Mayor of London, a post he has held from its creation in 2000 until 2008. ...

2004

In February 2003 he was again selected as Conservative mayoral candidate for the next elections in 2004. His platform included promises to open the Tube until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays and a "zero tolerance" approach to crime adapted from New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, whom he met to discuss strategies to combat crime in April 2004. The 2004 election saw him increase his share of the vote, in contrast to the London-wide vote of Conservative candidates for the London Assembly which fell two percentage points compared to 2000. The London Underground is a rapid transit system that serves a large part of Greater London and some neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. ... Rudolph William Louis Giuliani III, (born May 28, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, businessman, and Republican politician from the state of New York. ... The latest election to the post of Mayor of London took place on June 10, 2004. ...

Possible future candidacy

After speculation he would run again in 2008, Norris declined to put his name forward in time for the deadline for nominations to be submitted, initially scheduled for August 4 2006.^[4] The day following Norris's announcement the Tory leader David Cameron extended the deadline for nominations in the hope of attracting a heavyweight candidate. Norris did not rule out being the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in the 2008 Mayoral election. In an interview on February 22, 2007, Mr. Norris demonstrated his continued interest in, and passion for, the Mayoralty. He concluded by saying: "If I run, I'll win." However, he did not hand in his nomination papers for the new later Conservative Party deadline of July 16, 2007, and Boris Johnson was later selected. For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Dave Cameron. ... The London mayoral election, 2008 for the office of Mayor of London was held on 1 May 2008 and was won by Conservative party candidate Boris Johnson. ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (commonly known as Boris Johnson, born 19 June 1964, New York City)[1] is a British Conservative Party politician, journalist and former editor of The Spectator. ...

Business career

Norris is unusual in that he has combined a career in politics with a successful career in business. Although he was much criticised for it at the time he took on the chairmanship of Jarvis plc, the quoted construction and rail engineering giant when it was in financial meltdown following the Potters Bar rail disaster in 2002 and the poor performance of its main construction business. He is widely credited with having done a good job in rescuing the company from almost certain bankruptcy. He is currently Executive Chairman. He is also Chairman of Balmer Lindley Holdings Ltd, and AMT-Sybex Ltd. He is Senior Independent Director of ITIS Holdings Ltd and a non-executive director of a number of other private companies.

References