Paul Foster is the Labour MP for South Ribble, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Foster received 19,840 votes (42.5%). The Conservative candidate, Katherine Fletcher, received 13,339 votes (28.6%), while the Reform UK candidate, Andy Hunter, secured 8,995 votes (19.3%). Foster was elected with a majority of 6,501 votes.  

The South Ribble constituency is located in Lancashire, North West England. Created in 1983, it has historically been a bellwether constituency, changing hands between the Labour and Conservative parties in line with the outcome of general elections since its creation.

Foster’s immediate predecessor as the MP for South Ribble was Katherine Fletcher of the Conservative Party. Fletcher represented the seat from 2019 to 2024.

Political Career

In May 2026, Foster was among the group of Labour MPs who publicly called for the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to resign or set out a clear timetable for his departure. The move followed the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru.

In a statement, Foster said: “We need a leader with the vision to take us into the next chapter; someone who can rebuild trust, reconnect with communities across the country and provide the sense of optimism and hope that people are crying out for, while delivering the change we promised in our manifesto.

“It pains me to say this because I am a loyal person by nature, and I do not come to this conclusion lightly. But it is with great regret that I believe the party now needs a change of direction and, ultimately, a new leader.”

In January 2026, Foster was one of over 60 Labour MPs to sign a letter to the prime minister calling for the introduction of an Australia-style ban on social media access for children under the age of 16. Organised by Plymouth Moor View MP Fred Thomas, the initiative brought together a cross-factional coalition of backbenchers – spanning the Socialist Campaign Group, Tribune Group and Blue Labour – to demand action.

The letter called on Keir Starmer to “show leadership” by introducing a minimum age for social media access “to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms”.

It stated: “We are all strong supporters of technology, and of this Labour government’s ambition to use tech to improve lives. But successive governments have done far too little to protect young people from the consequences of unregulated, addictive social media platforms.”

Foster is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for armed forces (co-chair), Kosovo and Albania, and Sri Lanka.

Foster delivered his maiden speech on 29 July 2024 in a debate on the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill on 29 July 2024.

In it, he said: “I am now in a new political chapter and intend to push forward, delivering change with my new Labour government and colleagues, and I will take every opportunity to advance my constituents’ priorities and prospects in every way I can, with all the energy and experience I bring.

“I remain committed to ensuring that they all begin to thrive following such challenging times.”

He added: “I was brought up in Barrow-in-Furness, and I have a continuing passion for Barrow AFC.

“However, during the crippling strikes at the shipyard in 1988 in response to Mrs Thatcher’s targeted attacks on the UK’s manufacturing industry, I ended up joining the British Army’s Corps of Royal Engineers at the tender age of 18. I served for just under 15 years, serving operationally in the first Gulf war on Operation Haven and in the Kosovo conflict in 1999, to name but two.

“After retiring from the Royal Engineers in 2003 to be closer to my young children, I moved to South Ribble to establish a new life and a fresh start, and made it my home.”

Prior to entering parliament, Foster was leader of South Ribble Borough Council from 2019 to 2024.

Foster contested the Ribble Valley constituency at the 2010 general election.

Political Views

Leadership elections

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Foster was one of 117 Labour MPs who nominated Lucy Powell for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Powell, the former leader of the House of Commons, was seen as a candidate representing the party’s “soft left”; she was supported by leading soft left figures including Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham. She secured 117 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), above the 80 required, and went on to win the election – defeating Bridget Phillipson with 54.3% of the vote.

Factional identity and party tradition

Red Wall Caucus: Foster is a member of the Labour Red Wall Caucus, a parliamentary pressure group of Labour MPs representing constituencies in the Midlands and Northern England. Formed in November 2024 and led by Bassetlaw MP Jo White, the caucus serves as a voice for the so-called “red wall” seats that returned to Labour en masse at the 2024 general election.

In May 2025, following a series of disappointing local election results for the Labour Party, the caucus issued a statement calling for a shift in government strategy. The group argued that Keir Starmer’s “plan for change” messaging had “fallen on deaf ears”, inviting ministers to “visit our areas, listen and rebuild the social contract between government and the people.”

The statement added: “The demands raised by new MPs from post-industrial towns where infrastructure is poor with years of underinvestment must be taken off the too-difficult-to-do list.

“Breakaway from Treasury orthodoxy otherwise we will never get the investment we desperately need. The government needs to it improve messaging by telling our story and articulating our values in the language that resonates and is heard.”

In a subsequent letter to Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, on 27 August 2025, the MPs said they were elected “with commitments to destroy the criminal smuggling gang networks, ensure that our border is secure… and to quickly remove those who have no entitlement to be here.”

They went on to critique Farage’s deportations plan.

The MPs added: “We believe that migrants who pose a threat to public safety should be tagged, and that we should expand right-to-work checks to crack down on illegal working. We believe sex offenders should never get asylum in the UK. We believe that the criminal people smuggling gangs should be treated like terrorists.”

Welfare

Welfare ‘reasoned amendment’ (June 2025): Foster was one of the over 120 Labour MPs to sign the reasoned amendment to the government’s flagship welfare bill which aimed to reject the proposed legislation.

The amendment, in the name of senior Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, objected to the fact that the bill had not been subject to a “formal consultation with disabled people” and that “250,000 people will be pushed into poverty” as a result of it, according to a government impact assessment.

The motion also called on the government to wait for the publication of the review into the Personal Independence Payment (Pip), helmed by minister Sir Stephen Timms, and the independent review, conducted by Sir Charlie Mayfield, into how the employment of disabled people could be boosted.

In a March 2025 statement, Foster said he was opposed to “any cuts to Personal Independence Payment”.

He added: “Any changes to the welfare system must aim to reduce poverty among disabled people, promote their independence, and help everyone reach their full potential. The welfare system must enable disabled people to live independently while also being financially sustainable in the long term.

“I will continue to monitor the government’s plans closely and ensure the voices of disabled people in South Ribble and beyond are heard throughout this process.”

Welfare vote (July 2025): Foster voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Assisted dying

Foster voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at second reading (November 2024). However, he went on to vote against at third reading (June 2025).

Foster was one of 14 MPs to oppose the bill at third reading having supported it at second reading.

Ahead of the bill’s third reading, Foster was the co-signatory of a letter to Labour MPs that argued the bill had been “drastically weakened” since second reading.

The letter stated: “The bill presented to MPs in November has been fundamentally changed.

“This is not the safest bill in the world. It is weaker than the one first laid in front of MPs and has been drastically weakened.”

It said colleagues with “any doubts about the safety of this Bill” should “join us tomorrow and vote against it”.

Foster had previously indicated in his maiden speech that due to his mother’s death from cancer, he was open to the concept of assisted dying. “Her end of life was desperately traumatic, and could and should have been avoided”, he said.

“Given me and my family’s experiences with my mum, I also look forward to the passionate debate on assisted dying, which will be a deeply complex but critically important piece of legislation.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Foster voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Before Politics

Foster was raised in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.

He joined the British Army’s Corps of Royal Engineers aged 18. His military service included operational tours in Iraq (1992) and Kosovo (1999 and 2001).

After leaving the army, Foster worked in construction project management in various schemes around the North-West of England.

Personal Life

Foster lives in his South Ribble constituency.

Trivia

Foster called for Starmer to step down as prime minister in the May 2026 government crisis.