ARRESTED MP Dan Norris has not voted via proxy since police confirmed charges were being considered.
The North East Somerset and Hanham representative has not been to Parliament since he was arrested on suspicion of rape and other offences in April 2025.
He continued to vote on laws through a proxy vote cast on his behalf by the Labour Party’s whips, despite having been suspended from the party at the time of his arrest.
But his proxy vote has not been used since July 1. That was the date it was revealed that Avon and Somerset Police had submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider charges against Mr Norris.
Police, who have never named Mr Norris, had been investigating allegations relating to rape against three women, sexual assault against a fourth woman, and voyeurism and upskirting against “a number of women”.
All offences are alleged to have occurred between the 2000s and 2020s. Mr Norris has said he “vigorously and entirely” denies the allegations.
He is understood to have been banned from entering Parliament under its risk-based exclusion policy shortly after his initial arrest in April 2025, which can restrict access to MPs arrested on suspicion of a violent or sexual offence.
In February 2026, the MP told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he was still serving constituents to the best of his ability, handling casework, submitting written questions and voting by proxy.
Government whip Sir Nicholas Dakin, who had been casting the proxy vote for Mr Norris, used it for the last time that same day, in a vote to amend the rules around employment tribunals.
Mr Norris continues to submit written questions to ministers, one of the few remaining ways an MP can engage with Parliament without attending.
His latest questions, submitted on July 13, have regarded suspended driving licences and using former coal mines for geothermal power – an idea being proposed for the Somerset coalfield.
Government policy prescribes a “maximum of seven months” when granting an MP a proxy vote but this can be “extended multiple times” for the same length of time.
Proxy voting can be allowed for reasons such as maternity leave or long-term illness as well as risk-based exclusion.
An MP granted a proxy vote can choose when to use it, with Dan Norris’s voting record showing frequent use until July 1.
Unless the proxy voting resumes, there is now nobody casting a vote on behalf of North East Somerset and Hanham in Parliament.
There are no requirements for MPs to regularly attend Parliament or vote, beyond those enforced at a party level.
In September 2025, one constituent started a petition – now with more than 4,000 signatures – calling on Mr Norris to step down. The petition said that, despite acknowledging the principle of “innocent until proven guilty,” the situation did “severely undermine his ability to effectively represent us in Parliament”.
The only mechanism for constituents to remove an MP is if 10% of them sign a “recall petition.” This can only be done if the MP is given a custodial sentence, convicted of parliamentary expenses fraud, or suspended from the House of Commons for more than 10 days.
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporting Service
MP Norris no longer using proxy vote
