Background
Norton was born in Dublin in 1900.
Norton was born in Dublin in 1900.
He joined the postal service in 1916. By 1920 he was a prominent member in the trade union movement in Ireland. From 1924 to 1948 he served as secretary of the Post Office Workers" Union.
He was elected as a Teachta Dála (Territorial Decoration) for Dublin County at a by-election in 1926, but was defeated at the June 1927 general election.
In Professor Tom Garvin"s review of the 1950s "News from a New Republic", he comes in for praise as a moderniser. He represented Kildare from 1932 until his death.
In 1932 he became leader of the Labour Party. In the First Inter-Party Government (1948–1951), Norton became Tánaiste and Minister for Social Welfare.
In the Second Inter-Party Government (1954–1957), Norton served as Tánaiste and Minister for Industry and Commerce.
William Norton died in Dublin in 1963.
Garvin places him with a cross party group including Gerard Sweetman and Daniel Morrissey of Fine Gael as well as Seán Lemass of Fianna Fáil who were pushing a modernising agenda.