Kevin Foster

Kevin John Foster (born 29 January 1981) is a British Conservative politician, former British Army officer and former teacher serving as the Member of Parliament for Bridgwater and West Somerset since 2015.

Foster was raised in a low-income family in Bridgwater, Somerset. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 2003 and worked as a teacher. Having been born and raised in the area, Foster earned a local reputation among his community, leading to his election as Mayor of Bridgwater in 2013; the first Conservative to be elected to the position since 2007. Building a network of supporters during his premiership, Foster was elected as the MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset in 2015.

Foster's position as a Conservative has aroused some controversy. Supporters of Foster have praised him as honest, transparent and compassionate, with an appeal stretching beyond traditional Conservative voters. Conversely, his critics have accused him of being too left-wing and having inconsistent views on the economy, particularly surrounding nationalisation and the welfare state.

Early life and career
Kevin Foster was born in Taunton on 29 January 1981 to Jason Foster and Claire Foster (née Bond). Between 1991 and 1997, he was educated at Bridgwater College Academy, a state school in Bridgwater in Somerset. After completing his secondary school education, he attended Bridgwater and Taunton College where he studied A-Levels in politics, history and law. He later received an offer to attend the University of Oxford where he was awarded a first-class degree in politics and history. At Oxford, Foster was also awarded a Level 5 integrated specialist diploma, gaining him qualified teacher status (QTS).

Military career
After obtaining his teaching qualifications, Foster enlisted into the British Army; completing several tours of service including deployments in War in Afghanistan. In 2006, Foster was promoted to Second Lieutenant and transferred to the 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery where he served until he was honourably discharged later that year.

Teaching career
Following his discharge from the British Army, Foster returned to his childhood college where he taught politics and history for 6 years. With a growing reputation within the town, Foster was elected as the Mayor of Bridgwater in 2013. Winning the support of the local Conservative association, Foster was selected to stand as the Conservative candidate for Bridgwater and West Somerset in the 2015 general election.

Parliamentary career
Foster was elected to parliament at the 2015 general election for the safe Conservative seat of Bridgwater and West Somerset in Somerset, succeeding Ian Liddel-Grainger. He held the seat at the 2017 general election.

As a conservative MP, Foster has been known as one of the party's most rebellious MPs, having previously defied the conservative whip on electoral reform proposals, the minimum wage, smoking bans and reducing capital gains tax.

In 2016, Foster announced his support for Brexit in the 2016 referendum, but refused to work with the official leave campaigns, accusing them of harming Euroscepticism with "lies and deception". In 2018, Foster became one of the first conservative MPs to call for a people's vote.

Self-described ideology
Foster has comically described himself as a "one-nation tory with foster characteristics" and is a member of the one-nation conservative faction.

Other members of the party have regarded Foster as being a centrist and to the left of the majority of conservative MPs. His interests include education, the economy, taxation, the EU, treatment for mental health, constitutional affairs, rural matters and he has also spoken out in favour of electoral reform. He is a member of the Conservative Action for Electoral Reform pressure group.

At a constituency surgery in 2015, Foster jokingly claimed "if the Lib Dems weren't Lib Dems, I might have considered joining."

Immigration and the European Union
Foster is believed to be a supporter of a points-based immigration system. In 2016, Foster claimed to have been a "reluctant Brexiteer" and criticised the European Union's expansion into Eastern Europe; "If I were asked to join a club in which some members discriminated against you if you were gay, or if you had darker skin, I wouldn't join it."

Foster has also been a critic of the EU's increasing politicisation and has voted against proposals to increase the UK's level of integration into the European Union.

Social views
Foster has been recognised as one of the most socially liberal Conservative MPs. In 2018, Foster described himself as a "social progressive", claiming that he supported same-sex marriage, abortion, transgender rights and drug and police reform.

Personal life
Foster married Laura Marie Foster, whom he had met at Oxford, in 2003. In 2017, he appointed her as his parliamentary secretary. The couple have two daughters, Jasmine and Katie Foster.

Foster has also been an advocate for mental health awareness, having admitted to suffering from anxiety and depression for much of his younger life. In an interview in 2016, he described an episode where he had tried to take his own life while studying at Oxford.

Since 2003, Foster has actively volunteered for mental health helplines, including Childline and Samaritans.