Steven Norris is a former transport minister who lost out in the race to become Conservative candidate for London mayor to Lord Archer before the peer's disgrace and withdrawal. Mr Norris re-entered the race and, being the only big Tory name, emerged as the front-runner. But he faced rejection for a second time when the selection committee worried about his colourful past. He was reinstated by popular demand and was finally named as Tory candidate in January. Brought up in Liverpool, he studied law at Oxford University, and made his fortune with car dealerships. First a Conservative councillor, he was elected MP for Oxford East in 1983 but lost it four years later. The Epping Forest by-election in December 1988 brought him back into government until he decided to stand down at the 1997 general election for 'straightforward financial reasons'. Controversially, he supports the government's plan to scrap the anti-gay Clause 28 and as Mayor he promises better architecture on council estates, support for grammar schools and investment in buses and the tube.