Chris Ward, Kemptown and Peacehaven Labour MP, attended a Q&A with Sussex students. He refused to acknowledge his private sector lobbying past, and also refused to respond to questions asking him to condemn the genocide in Palestine. After 16 minutes, and two audience questions, he refused to hear any more questions and left.
Chris Ward became MP for Kemptown and Peacehaven on 4 July 2024 after the previous Labour MP, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, was suspended from the party due to an anonymous complaint about his behaviour, which he continues to deny.
After introductions and a first question about how he got into politics from the host, he was asked about what he did during a two year gap from party-political workHe answered that he got married, had a child, and worked in public affairs. After he was redirected to speak about the private sector, not the public sector, Mr Ward answered that he was a political advisor, with no more detail given.
In his two year gap from party politics, he was Public Affairs Director of Hanbury Strategy, a registered lobbying firm and political and public affairs consultancy agency. During his time there, Hanbury Strategy worked with companies such as Amazon, Rockhopper (a UK based oil and gas company), Flutter (a gambling and sports betting company), and Blackstone (an alternative asset management company).
All of these companies have their own set of controversies, but Blackstone specifically has a shocking series of controversies. A hotel chain owned by them gave their guest lists to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a warrant. Additionally, an investigation by the US Department of Labor found that more than 100 American children were working illegally for a slaughterhouse cleaning company (Packers Sanitation Services Inc) which was also owned by Blackstone.
The first question from the audience was regarding the fact that he abstained from the vote on removing the two child benefit cap, leading him to being “complicit in starving children”. The student who asked the question stated that they often went hungry as a child due to this benefit cap. Mr Ward answered that he ignored his own consciousness and abstained from the vote to stay within the Labour Party manifesto.
After audible disapproval from the students, the second question from the audience asked Chris why he has not condemned the genocide in Palestine, with other students echoing support for this question. At this point, he saw students with their phones out, one with a camera, and asked not to be recorded. Someone kept filming, and despite the host attempting to get Chris to answer a question from the many students with their hands up waiting, Chris left 16 minutes after he walked in the door.
This is not the first MP talk which has happened on campus, but this is by far the shortest one! Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Chris Ward’s predecessor), Siân Berry and Caroline Lucas (MP and predecessor for the Brighton Pavilion constituency respectively), and James MacCleary (MP for Lewes) have all hosted Q&As or discussions with students on campus.
A spokesperson for the University of Sussex said: “Last week, local MP Chris Ward visited our campus to take part in an event organised by a Students’ Union society. Whilst the majority of those attending remained respectful, a handful of attendees disrupted the discussion. Having attempted to speak directly to those individuals, Chris decided to end the event early, a decision which we support and respect.”
“The University of Sussex has a foundational commitment to academic freedom and freedom of speech. We aim to sustain an environment that fosters and supports a diversity of views and opinions for all members of our community, as well as our visitors. Sussex is, and always will be, a site of intellectual disagreement and contestation and whilst robust debate is to be expected, it must be respectful of people and of differences of opinion. We are disappointed that, on this occasion, the behaviour of a handful of attendees fell below our expectations.”
The Badger has reached out to Mr Ward’s team for a comment on this interaction, they have declined to provide any comment.