Before his election to Parliament, Foord was International Collaboration and Export Control Manager at the University of Oxford,[11] having previously worked at the University of Exeter from 2010, most recently as acting head of global partnerships.[12] He grew up in North Somerset and lived in Yatton for 19 years; by 2017, he lived in Uffculme, Devon.[4]
In January 2023, Foord tabled his first bill in Parliament to legalise wild camping on Dartmoor.[15] This came in the wake of a High Court ruling which saw the assumed right to wild camp at Dartmoor, established by the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985, overturned and replaced by an agreement between the Park Authority and local landowners.[16]
In July 2023, Foord launched a campaign to keeping Seaton hospital open, after it emerged a whole wing of the hospital was at risk of being sold off.[17] He is chair of the 'Save Seaton Hospital' steering committee, which is working to ensure the hospital remains within the local community. He has raised this issue several times in Parliament, presenting a petition calling for the government to intervene and block plans to sell part of it off in February 2024,[18] and organising a large public meeting in Colyford to allow the community to express their concerns.[19]
.jpg)
