David Ward
David Ward (born 24 June 1953) is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford East. He became the MP for Bradford East after being a councillor for Idle and Thackley ward in Bradford for 26 years.
Political Career
He was elected as Bradford Metropolitan District Councillor on for the Idle and Thackley ward in 1984 and served for 26 years until elected to Parliament in 2010. His specialist area was education and he was a Governor for 30 years at various Special, Primary and Secondary Schools and was the Portfolio holder for Education for 4 years. Whilst holding this post he also visited Kashmir with a Primary school and Secondary school headteacher to try to forge links with local schools. Ward was the Liberal Democrat candidate at the Bradford North by-election in 1990, and after his defeat he stood again in Bradford North at the general elections in 1992, 2001 and 2005. In 2005, he came second, 3,500 votes behind the sitting Labour Party MP Terry Rooney. Bradford North was abolished in boundary changes for the general election in May 2010, when he won the new Bradford East seat with a majority of 365 votes over Rooney, becoming Bradford's only Liberal Democrat MP. Ward was a member of the influential Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee from June 2010 to June 2012 when he became a member of the Education Select Committee.
Education
David Ward attended Boston Grammar School in Boston, Lincolnshire and then qualified as a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) in 1976. He attended the University of Bradford Management Centre to complete a MBA and a MPhil by research.
