'He's been undermined' Petition calls on accused MP to stand down

HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition demanding Dan Norris resigns, after he was arrested when allegations of child sex offences and rape were made against him.

- Tristan CORK

Dan Norris was arrested over allegations of child sex offences and rape

It calls on the MP for North East Somerset and Hanham to step down and for a by-election to be held.

The petition on the Change.org site has been set up by Andrew Gray who said that, although he wanted to “stress that Mr Norris is innocent until proven guilty’ the issue is that his ability to represent the constituency has been ‘diminished’ because of the current circumstances.

The petition is not a formal ‘Recall Petition, which can be used by constituents to effectively ‘sack’ an MP under recently-introduced rules. Instead, it's a call to Mr Norris himself to step down as the MP for Hanham and North East Somerset voluntarily.

“I don’t believe Dan Norris can fully support the constituency as MP of North East Somerset and Hanham,” said Mr Gray. “Regardless of the outcome [of the investigation], these allegations severely undermine his ability to effectively represent us in Parliament,’ he added.

On the day he was arrested - April 4 this year - Mr Norris held the jobs of both the Labour metro mayor and Westminster MP for the constituency that includes Keynsham, Whitchurch Village, Hanham, Saltford and Oldland to the south and east of Bristol.