Early career Ward became a
parliamentary researcher after graduating from
Oxford and spent 6 years working for
Sir Keir Starmer. After leaving his advisory role, Ward worked for Hanbury Strategy as a director starting in January 2022. Hanbury Strategy is a registered lobbying firm and political and public affairs consultancy agency, During his time at the company, Hanbury advised clients including
Amazon,
Deliveroo,
Flutter,
UBS,
Blackstone and
Rockhopper among others.
Parliamentary selection Ward was selected as prospective parliamentary candidate for
Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven following the suspension of
Lloyd Russell-Moyle from the Labour Party regarding allegations dating back to 2016. According to left-wing political commentator
Owen Jones, Ward had expressed an interest in becoming a Member of Parliament in the
Brighton area many years previously. immediately following which Ward was announced as Labour's new candidate. More than 200 members of the local Labour Party protested against the method of Ward's selection, and Nancy Platts former
Leader of
Brighton and Hove City Council questioned the fairness of the process. His Labour general election campaign launch was interrupted by
pro-Palestinian activists protesting against the
Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, with Ward accused of being a
parachute candidate. Considered to be on the right of the Labour Party, Ward is a supporter of "
Starmerism". ==Personal life==