Speaker Bio
Robert Hayward’s high-profile career spans over four decades. In the 1970s, he was elected local councilor of Coventry City Council in the West Midlands, England, and also served as vice chairman of the Young Conservatives, the former youth wing of the Conservative Party in Britain. He was elected as member of Parliament for Kingswood, South Gloucestershire in southwest England from 1983 until 1992.
After leaving parliament, he served as C.E.O. of the British Beer and Pub Association until 2009, when he decided to focus on electoral and political analysis. An esteemed psephologist, he regularly briefs the British print and broadcast media on elections and polling and is a sought-after speaker at international conferences and events. He accurately predicted the extent of the Conservative Party victory in the 2015 general election, having defined a new demographic character known as ‘motorway man,’ the aspirational, car-dependent middle manager, as a crucial swing voter whose opinions and voting intentions remained below the radar of leading opinion polls.
Regarded as a veteran political analyst, he also correctly forecast the ‘Brexit’ outcome of the 2017 E.U. Referendum. He was appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2015. A leading advocate of human rights, Lord Hayward established the Gulf Support Group for friends and family members of Kuwaiti civilians held in Iraq prior to the Persian Gulf War in 1991. He was appointed an officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his efforts, the only occasion when a serving member of Parliament has received the civilian honor for services beyond the realm of politics.
He is also a prominent spokesman on gay and lesbian issues, and was formerly the finance chairman of Stonewall, as well as serving on the board. In addition, he is co-founder and vice president of the Kings Cross Steelers Rugby Football Club. He served as the club’s first chairman when it was established as the first-ever gay inclusive rugby union club in the world in 1995.
Lord Hayward also served as treasurer of Dignity in Dying, a U.K. N.G.O. campaigning for a change in legislation to allow assisted dying. In addition he is deputy chairman and trustee of Central YMCA, director of YMCA Training, and an advisor to the board of the Terence Higgins Trust. He is also a member of the House of Lords select committee on political polling and the media.
An alumnus of the University of Rhodesia, Lord Hayward currently lives in London.
After leaving parliament, he served as C.E.O. of the British Beer and Pub Association until 2009, when he decided to focus on electoral and political analysis. An esteemed psephologist, he regularly briefs the British print and broadcast media on elections and polling and is a sought-after speaker at international conferences and events. He accurately predicted the extent of the Conservative Party victory in the 2015 general election, having defined a new demographic character known as ‘motorway man,’ the aspirational, car-dependent middle manager, as a crucial swing voter whose opinions and voting intentions remained below the radar of leading opinion polls.
Regarded as a veteran political analyst, he also correctly forecast the ‘Brexit’ outcome of the 2017 E.U. Referendum. He was appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2015. A leading advocate of human rights, Lord Hayward established the Gulf Support Group for friends and family members of Kuwaiti civilians held in Iraq prior to the Persian Gulf War in 1991. He was appointed an officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his efforts, the only occasion when a serving member of Parliament has received the civilian honor for services beyond the realm of politics.
He is also a prominent spokesman on gay and lesbian issues, and was formerly the finance chairman of Stonewall, as well as serving on the board. In addition, he is co-founder and vice president of the Kings Cross Steelers Rugby Football Club. He served as the club’s first chairman when it was established as the first-ever gay inclusive rugby union club in the world in 1995.
Lord Hayward also served as treasurer of Dignity in Dying, a U.K. N.G.O. campaigning for a change in legislation to allow assisted dying. In addition he is deputy chairman and trustee of Central YMCA, director of YMCA Training, and an advisor to the board of the Terence Higgins Trust. He is also a member of the House of Lords select committee on political polling and the media.
An alumnus of the University of Rhodesia, Lord Hayward currently lives in London.
Full Name
Lord Robert Hayward OBE
