South Ribble MP Paul Foster reflects on first 50 days in office

“There are so many diverse and demanding issues that I’ve been asked to look at – I must have had almost 2,000 emails from constituents.

“The interesting thing is, the constituents guessed my email address before I was even allocated it on the Monday – but that just shows the level of support (people) need.”

In addition to the needs of the residents, he has been elected to serve – including those in the rural west of the Chorley Council area, which his constituency covers – the 53-year-old will also be confronted with the demands that come with arriving in Parliament during the early days of a new government with what he describes as “huge amount of business” it wants to do.

Coincidentally, a number of the early issues with which the new administration will be wrestling are matters Foster was heavily involved with during his time as council leader – not least the thorny issue of devolution.

He has been vocal in his opposition to the deal struck between the previous Conservative government and the three ‘top-tier’ authorities in Lancashire – which notably did not include district councils like South Ribble. Ironically, it was the calling for the snap election that meant the legislation to implement the agreement was never brought before Parliament.

The Labor MPs who now dominate the county – holding 14 out of its 15 constituencies – are keen to see that deal ditched and renegotiated with a government which says it wants to see meaningful power devolved to every part of England.

Lancashire’s 15 local authorities have spent eight years discussing – and usually disagreeing about – the kind of devolution settlement the county should get. But Foster says now is the time for the “parochial arguments” to stop.

“The Labor government aren’t going to allow internal squabbling to prevent residents of Lancashire getting the deal that they need. I’m going to push the government – and if we need to change the legislation to bring about a deal, then that’s what we need to do.

“I said (as council leader) the current deal wasn’t delivering what devolution is required to deliver. Now we’ve got the best opportunity that we have ever had in our political lifetime (to ensure that it does).

“This will deliver the huge investment into the county that we’re so desperate for – even down to the low-level issues (like) potholes.

“Look at the benefits (devolved areas like) Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester are receiving, particularly when it comes to infrastructure – and it’s criminal that we keep missing out.”

Although the new MP would welcome the Andy Burnham-style elected mayor that comes with the deepest devolution deals, he has largely shied away from the culling of some district councils – like the one he used to lead – which is another potential pre-condition for the areas that want the maximum amount of local power.

While stressing that no demand to simplify Lancashire’s local authority map has yet been made by the government, he concedes that if the best deal goes hand in hand with sweeping changes to council structure, then the county would “have to have a very grown-up conversation about it”.

With devolution seemingly being an open door on which Foster can push to help make an early impact as a newly-elected MP, he faces a potentially tougher challenge when it comes to the plans for a new Royal Preston Hospital.

The replacement facility – which was last year given the go-ahead by the previous government to be built in the early-mid 2030s – is potentially earmarked for a site in the South Ribble constituency.

However, Labor last month ordered a review of the nationwide Conservative-led program for 40 new or substantially refurbished hospitals in the wake of what the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, described as a “£22bn hole” in the nation’s finances.

Paul Foster says he does not want residents “thinking anything has been shelved – because it hasn’t”.

He accused the last government of pursuing a program which was not deliverable, because “the funding just hadn’t been allocated”.

Nevertheless, the implication of the review is that the ax will fall on at least some of the projects that have previously been thought to be in the pipeline.

Pressed with how he would deal with a clash between local need and economic reality, he said: “I’m an evidence person – and the evidence strongly supports the argument that the facilities that we have here in Central Lancashire… (are) just not sustainable and so we have to do something about it.

“I have a loud voice and that voice will continue to be heard. We’re not going to accept ‘no’. What we need to do, though, is diligently go through the process properly…and get to the position where a decision can be made, the appropriate funding can be secured and we get on and deliver it,” said Foster, adding that “urgent meetings” would be sought with the health secretary, Wes Streeting, after the summer recess.

His predecessor, Victoria Atkins – the final health secretary in the Conservative government, who is now shadowing her old portfolio – has accused Labor of planning what she describes as “these cuts” to the new hospital program “for a long time”. Meanwhile, the former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt – also now shadowing his previous role – has disputed the new government’s claims of a surprise £22bn shortfall in the nation’s finances, saying Rachel Reeves had access to the books before the election.

With plenty on his constituency plate, the new South Ribble MP says he is also keen to bring his experience to bear on the policy process in Parliament by taking a seat on one of the ‘select committees’ that scrutinise the work of different government departments.

As a British Army veteran – serving in the Corps of Royal Engineers for 15 years from the age of just 18 and being part of both the first Gulf War and Kosovo conflict during the 1990s – he has let the government whips know that his preference would be a place either the defense or local government committees, which he regards as his “areas of expertise”.

Asked whether he ultimately harbors any ministerial ambitions, the Barrow-born politician – says his focus is on “being a good member of Parliament” for the place he called home for the past 21 years and also “learning my trade”. But he adds: “If, in months or years to come, Keir Starmer wants me to do an additional duty, then I will – but my primary role will always be a constituency MP.”

He now has a team of five constituency office workers – at a new base in Leyland – to help with that onerous task.

As he learns the ropes at Westminster, a process which he describes as “a baptism of fire”, he was also given support from a familiar face during one of the most momentous moments for any new MP – making their maiden speech.

“Sir Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley MP and Commons Speaker) had already done his two-hour slot in the Speaker’s chair, but then he came back to sit in the chair to announce me – and then left again. I thought that was a really nice touch,” he says.

Meanwhile, as he prepared to return to the council building where he has spent so much time over the past 17 years, he said it was important that he is “respectful” of the fact that he is no longer calling the shots – in order to allow his replacement “to take the authority forward in the way she wants”

And while he is now operating on a different political plane, there is a seeming parallel amidst the many differences between the roles of local authority leader and MP.

“I’ve just got the best interests of South Ribble at heart,” he says.

Dealing with difficult decisions

South Ribble’s new MP says he is well aware that the responsibility that comes with the post is likely to weigh heavily on his shoulders at times – including when asked to make “life-changing decisions” like removing winter fuel payments from all but the poorest pensioners , as the Chancellor recently announced.

“As a Labor government, these are the decisions that we don’t want to make, but we have to make – and it does dwell on my conscience,” he says.

To that end, he is a big believer in trying to inject nuance into policy – and thinks that local authorities like the one he used to lead can sometimes be the source of it.

“When you’ve got a black-and-white decision, there are always people who fall through the cracks. And what I’m demanding of government is that the appropriate support mechanisms (are put) in place to support those…individuals that don’t quite meet criteria being set

“There’s a number of initiatives I’m speaking to the Treasury about – and will continue to speak to (them) about before the budget in October. And this is where, hopefully (with) the support of local authorities, we can work on this and get that additional support to the people in the community who need it.

“But I genuinely feel that if we just make some tough decisions now and make the right decisions now, in the next 12 or 18 months, we will all benefit,” he adds.

Living the London life

With his new job at Westminster seeing him living in London four or five days a week, Paul Foster acknowledges the “pressures” that being an MP puts on family life.

While his adult son and daughter – aged 28 and 24 – are simply “excited” for him, he also has an 11-year-old girl who no longer gets to see her dad in person every day while Parliament is sitting.

However, he says that she is capitalizing on the positives of London no longer being a place purely for special occasions.

While he says he is staunch in resisting the efforts of lobbying organizations to draw his attention to matters which do not directly benefit his constituents, he finds it a little more difficult to resist the persuasive powers of his own daughter, who he thinks is showing signs of becoming a “mini-politician”.

“She’s a Swifty – big time – and she said, “I’d love (it if) we could go and see Taylor Swift in London together.

“She worked me well – and I had a lovely 24 hours on Monday when we went down to (the concert).

“I used to spend six months away on (military) operations, so (living away from home) is not brand new to me. But you’ve just got to make the most of the time that you have with your kids.”

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