Dan Norris has been named Labour’s ‘Mayor of the Year’ at an awards ceremony in London.   The West of England Mayor beat off competition from other mayors including Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham, West Yorkshire’s Tracy Brabin and South Yorkshire’s Oliver Coppard to scoop the prize.   At the awards, attended by over a thousand people including senior Labour frontbenchers David Lammy, Angela Rayner and Yvette Cooper, SME4Labour highlighted the West of England Mayor’s work to help during the cost-of-living crisis and climate emergency. They pointed to Safer Shops West so independent shops can install security measures to tackle shoplifting and support to cut energy bills through the Mayor’s Energy Bill Blitz drive. Ibrahim Dogus, Co-Chair of SME4Labour, said “I’m delighted Dan Norris is Labour Mayor of the Year in recognition of his efforts to support small and medium-sized businesses in his community. He’s rolled up his sleeves up and genuinely listened to people on the ground, to find the best solutions. So many of our members are struggling in the current cost of living crisis - with fuel bills and high rents. Dan Norris has shown a real commitment to supporting them. He is also gets that small businesses are the lifeblood of communities. He believes wealth creation is important and understands that SMEs make up the bulk of this in the U.K. When they thrive we all thrive.” Dan Norris said: “People and businesses in the West of England have faced a particularly tough couple of years but they constantly inspire me through their innovation and resilience. What matters to me about this award is that it puts our amazing region on the map. People who this time next year could well be sitting around the Cabinet table got to hear about our part of the world.

"I truly understand the strains everyone is facing and pledge again as a Labour Mayor to do all I can. Coupled with a Labour Government with a serious plan to get our economy growing again I believe we can go even further to build that brighter future that all West of England residents deserve."