Turner left home in the late 1980s to study at the University of Salford, graduating with a BA in English & History in 1991 and followed by a sabbatical year as the Students Union's Deputy President for Communications, elected as the Labour Students candidate.
Turner came to prominence as co-founder and former chairperson of the Big Issue in the North, which she started in 1992, before leaving in 2000.
In 2005 she was placed in the key post of Head of Government Relations by Tony Blair, replacing Lady Morgan of Huyton, the Prime Minister's long-time adviser, who first recommended her.
She worked directly for Tony Blair's chief of staff Jonathan Powell.
[4] She served as the Foundation's Chief Executive from 2007 until April 2013 when she became its Director of Policy working part-time after maternity leave.