Corbynista who affiliated union with hard-left Momentum
Dave Ward, the shaven-headed CWU general secretary, is known as Jeremy Corbyn’s closest union ally.
During the 2015 Labour leadership campaign he said Mr Corbyn must be elected to rid society of the “Blairite virus”. Two years ago he announced the postal union would affiliate with Momentum, the hard-left grouping of the Labour leader’s most committed supporters.
Recently he reposted statements blaming the Conservatives for “destroying lives at Christmas”, as well as praising a “brilliant interview” with Corbyn in The Guardian.
A lifelong socialist, Mr Ward joined the Royal Mail at 16 and has been an active union member since the Seventies. In the 2000s, as deputy general secretary, he admitted being a member of the so-called “awkward squad” of Left-wing union leaders who attempted to bully Gordon Brown into accepting major pay rises for public sector workers. Since working his way up to general secretary on a pay of £128,000, he has staunchly supported Mr Corbyn’s leadership.
“We have a very clear agenda,” he said in an interview earlier this year. “The biggest thing that will change people’s lives in this country is getting Labour elected. (Mr Corbyn) could end up setting the agenda for the next generation. That’s why it must happen and we’ve got to make sure it does.”
Born in Lambeth, Mr Ward is married with four children. He is a fanatical supporter of Chelsea Football Club, as well as a blues guitarist and a fan of the Rolling Stones.