West of England mayor election 2025: Selection race begins after Dan Norris forced out by party rule changes

Labour’s selection process to find a new candidate to fight the West of England mayoral election has got underway.

Applications opened yesterday afternoon to replace Dan Norris as the party’s candidate for the election in May, after he was blocked from seeking re-election following a shift in Labour’s stance on MPs holding duel roles.

Norris, the incumbent West of England mayor, won a seat in Parliament in July after defeating Jacob Rees-Mogg in the newly-formed North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Applications for the position will close next Thursday (October 10), followed by a nomination period between October 14 and October 27.

Shortlisting interviews will take place on October 31, with ballots to determine the party’s candidate set to be issued on November 6.

The ballot will close on November 20.

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Labour won the West of England mayoralty from the Conservatives in 2021, securing 59.5 percent to the Tories’ 40.5 percent of the vote under the supplementary vote system.

Next year’s election will be the first to take place under first past the post, following a change to the voting system by the Boris Johnson Conservative government.

Norris is reported to have told an event at Labour conference: “I need to say something. Because of rule changes the party has made, I will not be able to stand as metro mayor next year.”

He added that he will support Labour’s new candidate to “make sure Labour wins the next election” when it’s held next May.

Recap on all of the news and debate from party conference 2024 by LabourList here.

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