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New West of England mayor to launch jobs and skills summit
As the new West of England mayor, Dan Norris has promised to raise the region’s profile and be a “more visible” leader than his predecessor.
The Labour politician was victorious at the polls, beating Tory rival Samuel Williams into second place and was officially sworn in on Monday.
It’s now straight down to business for Norris, who has pledged to prioritise a green recovery for the region and plans to hold a jobs and skills summit within his first 100 days in office.
In the days running up to the election, a group of business and environmental representatives signed an open letter to the new mayor calling for an urgent response to enable the region to rebuild from the pandemic and tackle climate breakdown.
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Read more: Call for green jobs to tackle ‘youth unemployment crisis’
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They said green jobs and training must be given priority to tackle the “youth unemployment emergency” and bridge a “yawning” skills gap.
Speaking from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) HQ near Temple Meads, Norris said: “I’m honoured to be elected as metro mayor for the West of England, an area I am very proud to call home.
“I will be a more visible metro mayor who gets things done and raises the profile of the region on the national and global stage, making sure we get the recognition we need and deserve.
“I will hit the ground running with a jobs and skills summit in my first 100 days and my Green Recovery Plan. Over the coming weeks, I will be out and about across the region, meeting people and listening carefully to their views.”
The metro mayor is the leader of WECA and has spending powers over skills, education, housing and transport.
WECA will also lead the recovery plan for the region, working to ensure the right support and infrastructure is in place for residents and businesses to drive the region’s recovery.
Main photo courtesy of WECA
Read more: Former Labour MP Dan Norris becomes new West of England metro mayor
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