[1] The by-election was caused by the death of his father William Norton, former Tánaiste and Labour Party leader from 1932 to 1960.
[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][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.