Emergency department
The closure of the Accident and Emergency department at Kidderminster Hospital by Worcestershire Health Authority in 2000 spurred Dr Richard Taylor to stand for Parliament as an Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern candidate at the 2001 general election, Taylor campaigned largely on a single issue, that of restoring the Accident &amp; Emergency department. He was elected with a majority of 18,000, defeating the incumbent Labour MP and junior minister, David Lock. His success, which became known as the Kidderminster effect, inhibited subsequent hospital reorganisations.