Hayward first stood for Parliament, unsuccessfully, at Carmarthen, in October 1974,[3] being beaten by the leader of Plaid Cymru, Gwynfor Evans.

In January 1992 he "talked out" the second reading of the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill, and had to apologise for misleading the House.

Hayward was also PPS to Paul Channon, the secretary of state for transport, between 1987 and 1989, a period that saw the Lockerbie bombing, Clapham and Kings Cross rail disasters and the Kegworth air crash.

In 1989, Hayward successfully predicted the number of MPs not supporting Margaret Thatcher in the leadership election.

Hayward was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to friends and families of hostages prior to the Gulf War in 1991 Iraq War,[9] when he established and ran, with others, the Gulf Support Group for civilians who were held after the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq.

Hayward stepped down as CEO of the Beer and Pub Association to concentrate on his career as a psephologist and political analyst.

He was an advisor to the then-chairman of the Conservative Party Eric Pickles and was widely credited with identifying 'motorway man' as a key factor in the 2010 general election.

[16] It was announced on 15 May 2012 that Robert Hayward would be chairing the government's Public Sector Equality Duty review.