We asked the Bradford public the following questions on the Bradford East Liberal Democrat MP
- What do you think of David Ward as an MP?
- Do you think he will win the election this year and why?
- What did you make of his Palestine Tweet ‘Je Suis Palestinian’ shortly after the march of solidarity that took place in France?
I think David Ward does a lot for the community. He listens to the people in the area and he does his best at representing them. I get that the march was for freedom and it was freedom that he expressed in his tweet. Fair play to him. There are too many double standards in today’s day and age. Paul Johnson, 28
I think he is a good candidate for what he represents, but I am a Labour voter and I will be voting Labour this year. It’s about time Labour made a comeback. I am sick of all this Conservative and Lib Dem leadership. They don’t know what they are on about half of the time and when they do they end up in the deep end. And that tweet just said it all. Romana Shah, 37
He’s a nice chap. He goes that extra mile at helping people in the community. He’s not all talk like the rest of the MPs in the city. I think he has a good chance of winning the election. He is very popular among many people in the area. So I wish him all the best.
I am glad he expressed what he had to say on the internet. Everyone is entitled to the Freedom of Speech and surely as an MP it’s envious to see that he has a voice. Susan Price, 66
He is very involved as an MP. I have emailed him a couple of times for certain things and he’s always quick at getting back to you. He does a lot for you.
With the tweet, I found that to be a bit insensitive at the time. With everything that has just happened recently he has definitely put his foot in it. We will see if he manages to get enough votes to win because I would like for him to stick around. Inderjit Dulku, 42
He has gone down in my estimations. He lets his mouth run away with him. He needs to know when to put a lid on it. He has done a good job at putting the Lib Dems back on the map and for all the wrong reasons. You would think he would have more sense. Pritam Dhesi, 54
I saw that his tweet was mentioned in Parliament and that he had to apologise for what he said. There’s a time and a place and as a leader he should know that more than anyone. After this, let’s see if he manages to get enough votes because he is a good man. He’s just a bit foolish at times. It’s all down to the public whether they want someone like this to represent them. Prashant Chavda, 39
I like David Ward. He is very helpful and is always there when you need him. He listens to what the community wants. I do think he has a chance of winning just because he can gain votes on his popularity.
I thought the tweet he made was a little inconsiderate when the focus at the time was on the Paris attacks. I don’t think it was much of a bigger deal than it was made out to be because all he was doing was reminding people of that incident. It’s good to see that he is not afraid to speak up. Harriet Fitzgerald-Parker, 65
I can’t stand the man or the Lib Dem party for that matter. They are confused about what they believe in and what they portray to the public isn’t very appealing. I wouldn’t think he has a chance of winning especially when Labour is the most desired party in this area. I hope he doesn’t win.
His tweet was stupid and made no sense as to why he would mention Palestine when it was all about Paris. When it was Palestine’s time they got enough attention and press coverage. Let Paris have theirs. Arthur Holden, 71
I’ve never met the man but I like him. I like the fact that he cares for his constituents without being fake about it like some politicians are. And yes he does have a good chance of winning if he continues to help and support the people.
His tweet wasn’t very sensitive towards the victims and the victim’s families of the Paris attack but that doesn’t make him a bad guy for addressing it. Kudos to him for trying.Chazmin Patel ,35
I was thinking about voting for him but since he has been in the news recently about his tweet, I might have to reconsider. It was obvious to see that David was trying to appeal to a particular people his constituency, by writing out that tweet. I hope there are enough people to recognise he is not fit to represent them. Gavin Foster, 27
All I can say is- what you see is what you get with him.He should have bit his tongue before he took to Twitter though. Hopefully this will be a learning curve. Reece Crompton, 31
His tweet made him look like a bit of a plonker to be honest. He is losing track of his locality. He should be focusing on Bradford and tweeting about Bradford. He needs to stay out of other people’s business before he ends up in hot water. Nick Daniels, 41
David Ward is a good MP. I have met him before and he is a nice guy. He’s a man that knows what he is talking about and shows interest in what the public have to say.
I will support him and he has a good enough chance to win the election than anyone else who will be standing.His tweet hasn’t changed my mind about him as a person. It was his tweet on his personal account so he is entitled to express his own opinions. Kiran Kaur, 23
He’s okay. He’s not the best politician out there. But he is okay for his people, so each to their own. I wouldn’t mind if he wins but I would like to see a change and see what another politician can offer us.
His tweet was slightly irrelevant to what was happening at the time. He could have saved it for another day. Zahra Iqbal, 22
David Ward a man of all talk isn’t he.
His tweet turned into a bit of a car crash really. For his action, I think that he should be suspended as an MP. We put power in his hands and he makes himself look like a fool. He ought to know better. Charlie Piper, 49
I am not a big fan of his so I don’t think he should win this year’s elections.
His tweet was a bit controversial. In fact it was a bit offensive to be honest. The way that it was written showed that he was mocking it. I heard that Nick Clegg was to take further action, so I don’t know why he has been let him off so easily. It’s not the first time he has been suspended for comments made about
Israel. You think he would learn from his mistakes. The people of Bradford have yet once again put their trust in the wrong hands. Robert Brighton, 35
I don’t know much about him. All I know is that he is a man of strong views. I don’t really care if he wins or not. His tweet was a bit distasteful. He could have been a bit more mature about the way he handled his tweet because at the end of the day he was deliberately trying to get a rise from it by the way it was written. Jennifer Pickett, 47
Some of things I agree with what he says. Overall he has done a good job as an MP.
It’s going to be a tight one. He might win. He does have a lot of support in the BD2 area from the people I know.
He was trying to get across that we need to look at other events and take them into account and not just this one. I respect him for that and he’s has gone up in my expectations. Mr Aktar, 46
I don’t really have an opinion on him. I wouldn’t vote for him. I am usually a Labour voter.
He has no chance of winning unless he changes his political views to Labour.
His tweet was slightly insensitive. He could have waited and done it some months down the line. Rajveer Dosanjh, 37
He’s a bit of Maverick. He has his own way of doing things. I wouldn’t vote for him.
He does have a chance of winning as he is fairly popular with some sections of the community.
I think he was deliberately trying to be provocative but I don’t think he was hurtful about it. Jack Foddingham, 76
I quite like him actually. I have spoken to him and he seems a nice man.
I don’t know if he will win because he’s put his foot in it recently.
His tweet was not very nice. I don’t like upsetting anyone and I think he did upset people, so he shouldn’t have done that. Mary Boyle, 68
Lib Dem are dead in the water. They have got no chances of winning especially when you have David Ward representing you. I don’t believe in what he stands by and I think Bradford East needs a new politician, one which is not upsetting people with stupid tweets.Joshua Stuart, 33
He’s pretty good. He helps out a lot of people. He is one of the rare people who actually listen to what we have to say.
I don’t know about his chances of winning. With our Asian lot around here they look at what is promised and all they want is promises. Right now, there is a big hype about the Respect party so who knows what can happen.
At the end of day, it’s what he’s got to say and he is entitled to what’s on his mind. He could have approached it better though. Waseem, 26
I don’t like him or dislike him. But I know that he is a helpful man. He stands by all the communities and for that reason I think he will win. I stand by his tweet. Although the timing wasn’t great for it, the message behind it was. The good out of the message he addressed outweighs the bad. Abdul Khalid, 55
Politicians are only there when they need the votes. When you need them they are hard to get a hold of.
Because he stands for Lib Dem I think he has no chance at winning because the Conversative party and the Lib dems are joint parties and the way they have come across to the county and to the public right now shows no benefits for anybody. They are all about saving money and that’s it. But people who have been paying taxes all their life what benefits are they getting? I’ve not benefited anything.
The way politicians are looking at that, Muslims have a different rule and those who aren’t have a different rule. Thousands of people get killed each day. Why bring the whole world together for 12 people? I think he was right for tweeting what he did. Faheema Hussain, Ayesha Roshni Store owner