 In 1965 Ward began his political career when he was elected to Berkshire County Council.He became chairman of the Road Safety committee and in February 1969 he condemned the state of the A4 between Reading and Hungerford as a "killer road", after 38 people were killed on the road in the space of eighteen months.When Labour MP Francis Noel-Baker resigned from the House of Commons in 1969, Ward was selected as the Conservative candidate in the resulting by-election.