The Lord Bilston | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament forWolverhampton South East | |
| In office 11 June 1987 – 11 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Edwards |
| Succeeded by | Pat McFadden |
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 20 June 2005 – 25 February 2014 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dennis Turner (1942-08-26)26 August 1942 Bradley, West Midlands, England |
| Died | 25 February 2014(2014-02-25) (aged 71) Wolverhampton,West Midlands, England |
| Political party | Labour and Co-operative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Dennis Turner, Baron Bilston (26 August 1942 – 25 February 2014) was a BritishLabour Co-operative politician who served asMember of Parliament (MP) forWolverhampton South East from 1987 to 2005.
Turner was born inBradley in theBlack Country and lived there his entire life. He was the son of Thomas Herbert Turner and Mary Elizabeth Peasley. He was educated at StonefieldSecondary Modern School[1] (now South Wolverhampton and Bilston Academy) on Prosser Street in Bilston andBilston College of Further Education (now part ofCity of Wolverhampton College), worked as amarket trader and steelworker, and later ran asocial club. He was a strongtrades unionist. He was one of the youngest-ever councillors onWolverhampton Council from 1966, rising through the ranks to become deputy leader for seven years. He was Director of Springvale Co-operative Leisure Centre. He was onWest Midlands County Council from 1973–86.
Turner contestedHalesowen and Stourbridge in the February and October general elections in 1974.
He was elected member of Parliament forWolverhampton South East at the1987 general election. He never held high office, serving as an oppositionwhip then asParliamentary Private Secretary toClare Short at theDepartment for International Development. He also campaigned on issues ofFairtrade andfurther education, and chaired the Commons Catering Committee. He chaired the Co-op Parliamentary Group for two years and theWest Midlands group of Labour MPs. He once introduced a private member's bill seeking to make clear in law the correct amount of froth at the top of a pint of beer.
Turner stepped down from Parliament at the2005 general election; he announced his retirement at a very late stage, citing an impending lung operation on a collapseddiaphragm.Pat McFadden was selected to replace him.
On 13 May 2005 it was announced that he would be created alife peer, and on 20 June 2005 the title was created asBaron Bilston, of Bilston in the County ofWest Midlands.[2] Turner later revealed that this choice of title was a mistake, and he had intended to take the titleBaron Turner of Bilston.[3]
Lord Bilston was a Distinguished Supporter of theBritish Humanist Association.
He married Patricia Narroway in 1976 and had a son and a daughter.
Lord Bilston died inWolverhampton[4] on 25 February 2014, aged 71.[3]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWolverhampton South East 1987–2005 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
