John Taylor, Baron Taylor of Warwick

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For other persons named John Taylor, see John Taylor (disambiguation).

Lord Taylor of Warwick

John David Beckett Taylor, Baron Taylor of Warwick (born 1952) is a British politician and Conservative member of the House of Lords.

His father was a professional crickiter for the West Indies and his mother was a nurse. Taylor attended Moseley Grammar School where he was head boy, then Keele University where he studied English Literature and Law, followed by the Inns of Court School of Law in London.

He stood unsuccessfully for the Conservatives in the 1992 general election in Cheltenham, losing to the Liberal Democrats in a campaign influenced by the issue of race, with Taylor's West Indian background causing concern to some members of the local Conservative party. ^[1]

Concern was also expressed by the way the Liberal Democrats, who overturned a Conservative majority of over 5000 campaigned in the seat, stressing that their candidate (Nigel Jones) was 'local' and that the Conservative candidate was not.

Taylor was made a Life Peer as Baron Taylor of Warwick, of Warwick in the County of Warwickshire in 1996, as the first black Conservative peer. He was also Chancellor of Bournemouth University.

In September 2007 Lord Taylor of Warwick was a guest presenter for Talksport while James Whale was on holiday.