Turner contested
Halesowen and Stourbridge in the February and October general elections in 1974. He 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. Turner 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. Turner later revealed that this choice of title was a mistake, and he had intended to take the title
Baron Turner of Bilston. ==Personal life==