Memorial for Dennis Turner held in Parliament

Dennis Turner, the former MP for Wolverhampton South East, died in February following a battle with cancer.

The 71-year-old had represented the area for 18 years followed by nine in the House of Lords. He had lived in Bilston all his life and had been at the forefront of a campaign to save its last steelworks from closure.

He had also spent many years on Wolverhampton Council, rising to become its deputy leader before his election to the Commons.

Last night hundreds of people attended the memorial service in the House of Lords, including a coach load of mourners from Bilston.

They included Baroness Royall, Labour's leader in the Lords, former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott, the Labour peer and former Telford and Lichfield MP Lord Grocott, former Wolverhampton North East MP Ken Purchase, Jon Crockett of Bilston Rotary Club, David Clelland, the former MP for Tyne Bridge, Sehdev Bismal of the Wolverhampton Fair Trade Partnership and Lord Bilston's family including his widow Pat Turner, son Brendon and daughter Jenny as well as his brother, former Wolverhampton mayor Councillor Bert Turner.

Lord Bilston's successor as MP for Wolverhampton South East, Pat McFadden, gave a speech.

He said: "He was everyone's friend.

"Few MPs know their constituency as well as Dennis did.

"That's partly of course because he was born and brought up in Bilston but it's more than that too.

"It's the jobs he did locally too; door to door salesman; market trader; union convenor at the steelworks.

"He got to know thousands. And there was something in his character too.

"He was genuinely interested in people. And of course that completely amazing memory for names.

"As Dennis's brother Bert said at his funeral, if he was out for a pint or shopping in the town he would always have the time and patience to listen to people's problems.

"His view was, if it's important to them, it's important to me.

"If I had to take one thing away from today and from everything that has been said since Dennis passed away it would be to take pride in what he did. Take pride in what he stood for, how he lived his life, the friendship and warmth he brought to others and the love and respect in which he will always be held by the constituency he was so proud to represent."