Jacqueline Foster, Baroness Foster of Oxton, (née Renshaw) is a British Conservative politician and a former Member of the European Parliament for the North West England region. In October 2019 she was appointed Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. In December 2020, it was announced she would be conferred a Life Peerage after a nomination by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as part of the 2020 Political Honours. In January 2021, she was elevated to the Lords as Baroness Foster of Oxton, of Oxton in the County of Merseyside. Early career Jacqueline Foster was born in Liverpool and educated at Prescot Girls' Grammar School. She worked for British Airways for more than twenty years. Between 1981 and '85 she left British Airways and became Area Manager in Austria for Horizon, a British Tour Operator before returning to British Airways four years later. In 1989, she was one of the founder members of Cabin Crew '89, an independent trade union and served as the Deputy General Secretary. She continued with British Airways until she was elected as an MEP in 1999. She also lived and worked in France and Spain. She speaks French and German. Political involvement In 1988, following Margaret Thatcher's Bruges Speech, she opposed Britain joining a single European currency as well as signing up to the Social Chapter. Despite her positive experiences living and working in Europe, she maintained a Euro-scepticism due to her concern about the future of EU integration. She openly supported the United Kingdom leaving the EU following the Referendum in 2016. Foster combined her trade union activities with membership of the Conservative Party, serving as Vice Chairman of Twickenham Conservative Association as well as holding a variety of voluntary political offices for the Greater London area. In the 1992 general election, she was the Conservative candidate in Newham South, a Labour-held seat in east London. Against the national trend, Foster cut the Labour majority. She was shortlisted as the candidate for Eastleigh in the by-election of 1994 but lost out in selection. 1997 UK general election She continued to look for selection and in November 1995 was beaten by Eric Forth in the selection for Bromley and Chislehurst. In August 1996 she was selected for the marginal seat of Peterborough, where sitting Conservative MP Brian Mawhinney was moving to an adjacent constituency. She moved to Peterborough to fight the campaign