Paul is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough since 2025 and formerly served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough from 2019 until 2024, when he was defeated by the Labour candidate Andrew Pakes. A member of the Conservative Party, he worked as a public relations consultant and was the chairman of the lobbying trade body, the Association of Professional Political Consultants, prior to his parliamentary career. Bristow was also a councillor on Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council between 2006 and 2010.