William Edward Barnard CBE (29 January 1886 – 12 March 1958) was a New Zealand lawyer, politician and parliamentary speaker.

In 1915, he travelled to the United Kingdom and joined the Royal Army Medical Corps to serve in World War I.

In the 1925 election, he was Labour's candidate in the Kaipara seat – the incumbent was Gordon Coates, the Prime Minister, and Barnard was unsuccessful.

In the 1938 election, he was challenged in the Napier electorate by John Ormond of the National Party, but he won with a large majority.

[3] Politically, Barnard was on the left of the Labour Party, and was strongly influenced by the social credit theory of monetary reform.

The workload of his mayoral duties combined with those of his legal practice had begun to negatively affect his health and he resigned before the completion of the term necessitating a by-election.

[5] In the 1957 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for political and public services.