Patrick Norton (Irish politician)

Patrick Norton (born 1928) is an Irish former politician. He first stood for election at the Kildare by-election on 19 February 1964 but he was not elected.[1] The by-election was caused by the death of his father William Norton, former Tánaiste and Labour Party leader from 1932 to 1960. Patrick Norton was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare constituency at the 1965 general election.[2][1]

A businessman and property owner, with no previous record of party activism, he strongly opposed Labour's ideological swing to the left in the mid-1960s under Brendan Corish's leadership. After being attacked at the party conference regarding a court case condemning houses that he owned, he left the party in December 1967, insisting it had been captured by "a small but vocal group of fellow travellers".[3]

In February 1969, he joined Fianna Fáil.[2][4] On joining, he accused Labour of embracing "Cuban socialism".[3][5] He stood as a Fianna Fáil candidate at the 1969 general election but lost his seat.[1] He was subsequently elected to the 12th Seanad on the Administrative Panel as a Fianna Fáil senator. He also stood as a Fianna Fáil candidate at the 1973 general election for the Dublin South-East constituency but was not elected.[1]