Dennis Turner, Baron Bilston

The Lord Bilston
Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South East
In office 11 June 1987 – 5 May 2005
Preceded by	Robert Edwards
Succeeded by	Pat McFadden
Personal details
Born	26 August 1942 (1942-08-26) (age 69) Bradley, West Midlands
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour Co-operative
Spouse(s)	Patricia Narroway

Dennis Turner, Baron Bilston (born 26 August 1942) is a Labour and Co-operative politician in the United Kingdom and was a Member of Parliament from 1987 until 2005.

Early life

Turner was born in Bradley in the Black Country and has lived there his whole life. He was the son of Thomas Herbert Turner and Mary Elizabeth Peasley. He was educated at Stonefield Secondary Modern School (which became Hall Green School, subsequently Bilston High School, and now South Wolverhampton and Bilston Academy) on Prosser Street in Bilston and Bilston College of Further Education (now part of City of Wolverhampton College), worked as a market trader and steelworker, and later ran a social club. He is a strong trades unionist. He was one of the youngest-ever councillors on Wolverhampton 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 on West Midlands County Council from 1973-86.

Parliamentary career

He contested Halesowen and Stourbridge in the February and October general elections in 1974.

Turner was elected member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South East at the 1987 general election. He never held high office, serving as an opposition whip then as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Clare Short at the Department for International Development. He also campaigned on issues of Fairtrade and further education, and chaired the Commons Catering Committee. He chaired the Co-op Parliamentary Group for two years and the West 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.

He stepped down from Parliament at the 2005 general election; he announced his retirement at a very late stage, citing an impending lung operation on a collapsed diaphragm. Pat McFadden was selected to replace him.

On 13 May 2005 it was announced that he would be created a life peer, and on 20 June 2005 the title was created as Baron Bilston, of Bilston in the County of West Midlands.

Personal life

Lord Bilston is a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association.

He married Patricia Narroway in 1976 and has a son and a daughter.

External links

• They Work For You
• Ask Aristotle
• Wolverhampton University Honorary Doctorate 2006

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Robert Edwards	Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South East 1987–2005	Succeeded by Pat McFadden

Persondata
Name	Turner, Dennis
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 August 1942
Place of birth	Bradley, West Midlands
Date of death
Place of death