Steven Norris
Steven John Norris (born 24 May 1945 in Liverpool, Lancashire) is a British Conservative politician. He was the official Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in 2000 and 2004, losing in both races to Ken Livingstone.
A former Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party, he chaired the transport working group in Conservative Party leader David Cameron's Quality of Life Commission.
Early life and career
Steven Norris attended the Liverpool Institute for Boys, a grammar school, from 1956 to 1963; there he became a prefect and, in his last year, Head Boy. He gained an open Exhibition in Social Studies and graduated from Worcester College, Oxford where he President of the University Law Society. After graduating he pursued a career in the engineering and motor industries, and entered politics when he was elected to Berkshire County Council in 1977.
Parliamentary and ministerial career
He became the Member of Parliament for Oxford East in 1983. After narrowly losing that seat in 1987 to Andrew Smith, he re-entered the House of Commons at a by-election for Epping Forest in 1988. He served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to William Waldegrave at the Department of the Environment, Nicholas Ridley at the Department of Trade and Industry and Kenneth Baker at the Home Office 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.
