The Tory wet! MP admits he spends an hour every day soaking in the bath
A TORY MP has admitted that he spends up to an hour in the bath every morning ‘relaxing and composing his thoughts for the day’.
Former children’s minister Tim Loughton is co-chairman of a new all-party group on mindfulness, a form of meditation.
Discussing his bathroom routine, he said showers were ‘one of the greatest causes of stress in the world’.
Mr Loughton instead spends an hour soaking and working in his bath, reading the papers and composing his thoughts.
He said: ‘I do a bit of work in the bath, I read papers in the bath, but I also do a bit of mindfulness to relax and compose my thoughts for the day ahead.
‘And that’s a good use of my time because I’m normally in the bath by about six o’clock in the morning – and I’m in my office, as I was this morning, before eight o’clock in the morning. So some people might stay in bed until eight o’clock – I get up and do some work, but I do it in my bath.’
He told BBC 5 Live that taking a long bath was like ‘going to the gym for the mind’.
The MP for East Worthing and Shoreham follows in the footsteps of Sir Winston Churchill, who was also fond of a long soak in a bath, from which he would dictate letters and conduct meetings. Mr Loughton, who last year ran Andrea Leadsom’s bid to be Conservative party leader, said his daily bath was essential to his mental health.
He revealed his habit at a conference in London attended by politicians from 15 countries looking at how meditation can improve politics.
Mr Loughton admitted topping up the hot water was ‘not cheap’. He has claimed £662 for water bills for his London flat over the last two years, the Daily Mirror reported. Last night Mr Loughton tweeted: ‘Thanks for all the tweets, posts and emails and particularly those recognising the serious points about the value of mindfulness in tackling the mental health epidemic.
‘Special thanks to the bath company that offered me a discount and the soap shop wanting sponsorship deal.’