The Turner Controversy involved a series of disputes between "Turnerites" and the rest of the party that caused Turner to resign.
A series of acrimonious disputes between the 'Turnerites' and the majority of the party culminated in a party referendum and then a resolution being carried at the 1955 party conference to the effect that all members not in agreement with the Declaration of Principles be asked to resign. Turner, having survived a previous attempt to expel him, promptly did so, along with a number of other members including Joan Lestor (later to become a Labour minister) and the psychologist John Rowan. The Turner Controversy was a dispute within the Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) regarding the nature of socialism instigated by party member Tony Turner. 
