Norman Lamb

The son of Hubert Lamb, a leading climatologist, Norman Lamb studied Law at Leicester University and, after working as a Parliamentary Assistant for a Labour MP, built a career as a litigation solicitor, ultimately specialising in employment law. He was partner of Steeles Solicitors and is the author of ‘Remedies in the Employment Tribunal’.

Norman was elected to Norwich City Council becoming Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition. He first stood for Parliament in North Norfolk in 1992.

Norman married his wife, Mary, in 1984, and they have two sons.  Norman is a long-standing Norwich City supporter and season-ticket holder

Record Of Delivery

Norman has worked hard for people in North Norfolk since his election in 2001. He won by just 483 votes but has subsequently been re-elected four times and currently holds a majority of 3,512. Norman is committed to creating a fairer society for people in North Norfolk. His key priorities have been:

  • Improving health and care services for people in North Norfolk, campaigning for reduced waiting times for operations and better mental health care. He has also campaigned for improved ambulance response times in rural areas.
  • Better transport links for Norfolk, including supporting the campaign for “Norwich in 90”.
  • Improving education in Norfolk, challenging our underperforming education system and making sure that every pupil gets a fair start in life. Norman has also supported the Government’s work to create more apprenticeships for young people.
  • Campaigning for a fair deal for coastal communities.
  • Working with local businesses to help build a stronger economy and support good quality jobs for people in North Norfolk.

Last year, Norman and his team took up over 7,000 individual pieces of casework, sending over 19,000 letters and emails.

Parliamentary Experience

After his election to Parliament, Norman became an International Development Spokesperson. He then joined the Treasury Team and was elected to the Treasury Select Committee. In 2005 he was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, championing the case for employee share ownership in Royal Mail. In 2006 he became Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary.

Following the 2010 General Election, Norman served first as Chief Parliamentary Advisor to Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, and then as a junior minister at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, before  he was promoted to Minister of State for Care and Support at the Department of Health.

As Health Minister, Norman worked to introduce crucial reforms to the care system, introducing a cap on care costs and ensuring that carers get the support they need.  Norman led the drive to join-up our health and care system, with a greater focus on preventing ill-health. He also challenged the NHS to ensure that mental health gets treated with the same priority as physical health, introducing the first ever access and waiting time standards in mental health care for the treatment of common mental health problems like depression and anxiety, and for patients experiencing their first episode of psychosis.

Norman served as the Liberal Democrats’ Shadow Health Secretary from 2015 to 2017, and is continuing his campaign to achieve equality for those who suffer from mental ill health.

He was elected Chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee in July 2017.