Desmond Stanley Turner (born 17 July 1939) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Brighton Kemptown Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 general election by Chris Ward of the Labour Party. Before the 2024 general election the constituency was called Brigh ...

from

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Early life

He was born in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and educated at Luton Grammar School (now known as

Luton Sixth Form College Luton Sixth Form College is a sixth form college in the Barnfield, Luton, Barnfield area of Luton, Bedfordshire, England. History In 1904 Luton Council acquired the Modern School, which was a mixed-sex secondary school. This school moved into ...

) on Bradgers Hill Road in

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

. At

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

, he gained a BSc and MSc. At

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, he gained a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

, researching Biochemistry. At

Brighton Polytechnic The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. Th ...

, 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 The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...

and the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

. Turner was a Councillor on

East Sussex County Council East Sussex County Council is the upper tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes Brighton and Hove. East ...

1985–1997, and on

Brighton Borough Council Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The ancient settlement of ...

1994–1996 and its successor

Brighton and Hove City Council Brighton and Hove City Council is the local authority for Brighton and Hove, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also per ...

1996–97.

Parliamentary career

He contested Mid-Sussex in 1979. In 2001, Turner put forward a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

in an attempt to better regulate home heating and energy efficiency in rented houses of multiple occupancy, 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. During the passage of the

Equality Act 2006 The Equality Act 2006 (c. 3) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom covering the United Kingdom. The 2006 Act is a precursor to the Equality Act 2010, which combines all of the equality enactments within Great Britain and provide com ...

, Turner led an

early day motion In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by a member of Parliament, which the Government (in charge of parliamentary business) has not yet scheduled for debate. Hi ...

which, with

Waheed Alli Waheed Alli, Baron Alli (born 16 November 1964) is a British media entrepreneur and politician. He has held executive positions at several television production companies including the Endemol Shine Group, Carlton Television Productions (now ITV ...

's amendment in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, led the government to extend the bill's anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ people 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. Burgess did not win the seat, with

Simon Kirby Simon Gerard Kirby (born 22 December 1964), also known as Simon Radford-Kirby, is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown in 2010. In 2016, he was appoin ...

holding the seat until

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Personal life

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Des 1939 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of East Sussex County Council UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Academics of the University of Surrey Academics of the University of Sussex Alumni of Imperial College London Alumni of University College London Alumni of the University of Brighton Politicians from Brighton and Hove