Obituary: Dr Richard Taylor, a retired medic who shook the political establishment to become MP
June, 2001, and Tony Blair was master of all he surveyed. Heading into what would be a second landslide victory, he, Gordon Brown and John Prescott toured the country on a slick battlebus, delivering the message that a second-term Labour government would deliver record investment in schools and hospitals.
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But there was a fly in the ointment. Blair's plans for a £95 million super-hospital in Worcester had led to the closure of the A & E department at Kidderminster the year before. The move prompted an unassuming hospital consultant had decided to stand against one of Labour's rising stars on a Save Kidderminster Hospital ticket.
Dr Richard Taylor's stunning victory in Wyre Forest constituency was one of the biggest surprises in the 2001 General Election. It was not just that a sparsely funded independent candidate had ousted a government minister, with the weight of a giant party machine and a popular prime minister behind him. It was the magnitude of his victory that came as the biggest shock: his majority of 17,630 over David Lock left Tony Blair in no doubt about the strength of feeling about his plans to downgrade Kidderminster Hospital.
The recently retired hospital consultant was little-known outside medical circles when he became involved in the campaign to stop the closure of the A & E unit in 1997. Indeed, it was his persona as a reluctant politician, rather than a tub-thumping activist, that enabled him to bring together a coalition of support from across the political spectrum.
The announcement of Dr Taylor's death on Wednesday, a week before his 90th birthday, has led to tributes from both his supporters and opponents.
Mark Garnier, who eventually defeated Dr Taylor at the General Election of 2010, spoke of his sadness at Dr Taylor's passing.
"He epitomised everything that is good about democracy," said Mr Garnier.
