Derek Foster, Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland

The Right Honourable The Lord Foster PC DL
Opposition Chief Whip
In office 1985–1995
Leader	Neil Kinnock John Smith Margaret Beckett Tony Blair
Preceded by	Michael Cocks
Succeeded by	Donald Dewar
Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland
In office 3 May 1979 – 5 May 2005
Preceded by	James Boyden
Succeeded by	Helen Goodman
Personal details
Born	25 June 1937 (1937-06-25) (age 74)
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Religion	Salvationist

Derek Foster, Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland, PC, DL (born 25 June 1937)^[1] was the British member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland, County Durham from 1979 to 2005.^[1] He is a member of the Labour Party.

Foster was Chief Whip of the opposition between 1985 and 1995, becoming a member of the Privy Council in 1993. After Tony Blair became leader in 1994, he was keen to appoint a new Chief Whip and asked Foster to stand aside, in return for the promise of a seat in the Cabinet if and when Labour returned to power. Foster eventually agreed and became Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1995.

However when Labour won the 1997 election, Foster was appointed to the relatively junior role of Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office, under David Clark. After giving the matter further thought, Foster stood down from the government after just two days, and later publicly accused Mr Blair of having broken his promise to him. He was eventually appointed chair of the Commons sub-committee on employment, becoming something of a thorn in the Government's side during Mr Blair's first term. But the employment sub-committee was abolished in 2001 and he became a backbencher, retiring from the Commons at the 2005 general election. On 13 May 2005 it was announced that he would be created a life peer, and in June 2005 the peerage was gazetted as Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland, of Bishop Auckland in the County of Durham.

Foster also has associations with The Salvation Army, serving at the Sunderland Millfield Corps, whilst also a member of the Labour Friends of Israel Policy Council.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Derek Foster

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by James Boyden	Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland 1979–2005	Succeeded by Helen Goodman

Persondata
Name	Foster, Derek
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	25 June 1937
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death