Richard Taylor: consultant rheumatologist who became an independent MP, standing on an anti-NHS privatisation ticket

In the uneventful general election campaign of 2001, Richard Taylor’s victory in the seat of Wyre Forest stood out. Taylor, a retired rheumatology consultant, was that rare beast in British politics—an independent MP who was elected not once but twice, regaining his seat in 2005.

Taylor’s path to Westminster lay in the new Labour government’s plans to downgrade Kidderminster Hospital, where he had worked for more than 20 years. He was horrified that it would lose its emergency department and nearly 200 beds, meaning patients would have to travel 18 to 35 miles to Worcester General Infirmary, which was being rebuilt under the government’s flagship private finance initiative.

Local opposition to the government’s plans was huge. Taylor became involved with a group called Health Concern, which had won 11 seats on the local council, through the hospital’s League of Friends. Few expected him to take the campaign to the national stage, however, particularly as the downgrading of the hospital had already taken place by the time the election was called.

Undeterred, Taylor fought …