Des Turner

Des Turner
Member of Parliament
for Brighton Kemptown
In office
2 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byAndrew Bowden
Succeeded bySimon Kirby
Personal details
Born (1939-07-17) 17 July 1939 (age 85)
Southampton, Hampshire, UK
Political partyLabour
SpouseLynn Rogers
Alma materImperial College London, University College, London

Desmond Stanley Turner (born 17 July 1939) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown from 1997 to 2010.

Early life

He was born in Southampton[1] and educated at Luton Grammar School[1] (now known as Luton Sixth Form College) on Bradgers Hill Road in Luton. At Imperial College London,[1] he gained a BSc and MSc. At University College, London,[1] he gained a PhD, researching Biochemistry. At Brighton Polytechnic, he got a PGCE, and subsequently became a teacher. He also became a partner in an independent brewery. He has been a lecturer at the University of Surrey and the University of Sussex.[1]

Turner was a Councillor on East Sussex County Council 1985–1997, and on Brighton Borough Council 1994–1996 and its successor Brighton and Hove City Council 1996–97.

Parliamentary career

He contested Mid-Sussex in 1979.

In 2001, Turner put forward a private member's bill in an attempt to better regulate home heating and energy efficiency in rented houses of multiple occupancy,[2] but he had to withdraw the bill in July 2002 after government opposition to an amendment passed calling for energy savings of 30% by 2010.[3][4]

During the passage of the Equality Act 2006, Turner led an early day motion[5] which, with Waheed Alli's amendment in the House of Lords,[6] led the government to extend the bill's anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ people[7] by providing the statutory power to issue the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 and the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006.

Turner stood down at the 2010 general election, with the local Labour Party selecting Simon Burgess as their candidate to succeed him.[8] Burgess did not win the seat, with Simon Kirby holding the seat until 2017.

Personal life

His second wife is Lynn Rogers, whom he married in September 1997 in Brighton. He has a daughter from his first marriage[1] to Lynette Gwyn-Jones, the former Leader of Brighton and Hove Council.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Ask Aristotle: Dr Des Turner: biography". Guardian Unlimited Politics. Archived from the original on 25 July 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  2. ^ "New Bill will deliver warm, safe energy-saving homes". The Fifth Fuel. Association for the Conservation of Energy. Summer 2001. Archived from the original on 25 June 2007.
  3. ^ "MP's conservation Bill scrapped". The Argus. 18 July 2002. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  4. ^ "MPs fight on after double bill failure". Inside Housing. 21 July 2002. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  5. ^ "EDM 710:Equality Bill and provision of goods and services". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 1 October 2005. Archived from the original on 14 May 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Equality Bill [HL]: 9 Nov 2005". TheyWorkForYou. 9 November 2005. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Equality Bill [Lords] — Order for Second Reading". TheyWorkForYou. 21 November 2005. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Simon Burgess chosen to fight Kemptown". Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven Labour Party. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2022.


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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown
1997–2010 		Succeeded by