"Jabez Foster" redirects here. For the 1920s footballer of that name, see Jabez Foster (footballer)

Michael Jabez Foster (born 26 February 1946) is a British politician. He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye and the Minister for Equalities, responsible for the progress of the Government's Equalities Bill through the House of Commons, a role he has held since June 2009.

[edit] Early life

Michael Foster was born in Hastings, East Sussex and attended the local Hastings Secondary School for Boys and the Hastings Grammar School before attending the University of Leicester where he received a Master of Laws (LLM) degree. From 1963 to 1972 he worked as a litigation clerk. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1980 and worked as a partner of Fynmores Solicitors in Bexhill-on-Sea specialising in employment law until 1998.

He was elected as a councillor to the Hastings Borough Council in 1970, becoming the Labour group leader for a year in 1973, serving on the council until 1977, he was again elected to the Borough Council 1981-1985. He received a dual mandate in 1974 when he was also elected as a councillor to the East Sussex County Council, becoming the deputy Labour group leader 1984-1992, he stood down from the county council in 1997.

[edit] Parliamentary career

He unsuccessfully contested Hastings at both the February and October 1974 general elections and again at the 1979 General Election, and on each occasion was defeated by the sitting Conservative MP Kenneth Warren. He won Hastings and Rye at the 1997 General Election when he became the second least expected Labour MP in the landslide. He defeated the new sitting Conservative MP Jacqui Lait by 2,560 votes and has remained the MP since. He made his maiden speech on 21 November 1997.[1]

In parliament he was a member of the social security select committee in 1998 until he became the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney General Gareth Williams in 1999 and his successor Peter Goldsmith until the 2005 General Election. From 2005 he has been a member of the work and pensions and standards and privileges select committees. In 2009 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Equality in the Government Equalities Office.

[edit] Personal life

Michael Foster married Rosemary Kemp on 13 September 1969 in Hastings and they have two sons and four grandchildren. He is interested in tennis and is secretary of the All Party Tennis Group in parliament. He is a member of the Christian Socialists and the Society of Labour Lawyers. Other interests include pensioners rights, child poverty and animal welfare. He has been a Deputy Lieutenant for East Sussex since 1993.

[edit] External links

• Michael Foster official site
• Guardian Unlimited Politics Ask Aristotle - Michael Jabez Foster MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Michael Jabez Foster MP
• BBC Politics page

[edit] News items

• Resigning in March 2003
• Calling on a killer to be deported in March 2003

[edit] Video clips

• At Hastings Chess Club in 2007

v • d • e Borough of Hastings, East Sussex Landmarks and places of interest East Hill Cliff Railway, Hastings Castle, Hastings Old Town, Hastings Pier, West Hill Cliff Railway Education Helenswood School, Hillcrest School, University Centre Hastings, William Parker Sports College Sport and recreation Alexandra Park, Cinque Ports Rugby Club, Hastings Country Park, Hastings Open Bowls Tournament, Hastings United Other topics Battle of Hastings, Foyle's War, St Leonards-on-Sea, Bulverhythe, Silverhill, Ore Hastings website