Quiet politician lost 8st working out in lockdown
DAVID WARBURTON has kept a low profile in the Commons, not speaking once in the Chamber since the start of this year.
But he hit the headlines last January when he revealed an eightstone (112lb) weight loss after fearing he was ‘morbidly obese’ because he had weighed more than 21 stone.
The 56-year-old MP said he was congratulated by the Prime Minister and Health Secretary Matt Hancock for his progress. He posted before-and-after photographs on social media showing how he had used a home gym to bring his weight down.
He said he had ‘got a bit obsessed’ with working out during the first lockdown last March – and also credited his weight loss to swapping beer for gin.
Alongside a photo showing his new physique, the MP wrote: ‘Not really into selfie posting, but today a bit chuffed to hit six stone weight loss since March plus two stone before that. Eight stone gone… No dieting – lots of treadmill and weights... and, er, gin. Who knew it would be fun..!?’
Mr Warburton had a career in music and teaching before entering Parliament as MP for Somerton and Frome in 2015, winning a majority of 20,268, thanks to one of the biggest constituency swings to the Tories. He has since served on the backbenches. He studied at the Royal College of Music and taught at its junior department before joining a London school.
In 1999, he founded a company providing downloadable music to mobile phones.
Shortly after entering the Commons, Mr Warburton became the chairman of the all-party Parliamentary group on music, and continues to hold the post. Last year, industry group UK Music gifted him a ticket to the Brit Awards, worth £900.
He is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a trustee of the charity Music for Youth and sits on the board of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He is also a member of Mensa.
He was previously a member of the Commons European Scrutiny Committee and, under Theresa May’s Government, served as a Ministerial aide to the Departments for Education and International Development.
He is married to Harriet – a cousin of former Cabinet Secretary Lord Butler – and the couple have two young children. Mr Warburton employs his wife as a communications officer and personal assistant on top of her work as a PR manager for an estate agency.
His father-in-law was Deputy High Commissioner to Malaysia.