Foster was previously leader of South Ribble Borough Council for five years. He is an army veteran. In his maiden speech, Foster said, "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." Foster 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." He left the army in 2003. In November 2024, Foster voted in favour of the
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legalise
assisted suicide. ==References==