County News: Sussex MP's hour-long morning bath routine sparks national headlines

Rub a dub dub, three men in a tub, and who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker the candlestick maker '“ but not for as long as our MP.
Tim Loughton, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham. Picture: Derek MartinTim Loughton, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham. Picture: Derek Martin
Tim Loughton, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham. Picture: Derek Martin

East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton – to his surprise – made front page national news this week for his unusual morning routine.

The Times reported how the MP took up to an hour-long bath each day around 6am and described showers as ‘one of the greatest causes of stress in the world’.

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Mr Loughton said the ‘real story’ was a mindfulness conference he hosted to tackle the epidemic of mental illness, where had remarked on how he managed to de-stress.

In an interview with BBC News, Mr Loughton said: “As part of my daily bath routine 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 6 o’clock in the morning – and I’m in my office, as I was this morning, before 8 o’clock in the morning.”

Mr Loughton is co-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on mindfulness.

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The conference in London on Tuesday (October 17) brought together 20 MPs from more than 15 countries to promote mindfulness.

Writing on his Instagram page, he said: “One of the joys of mindfulness is that it can be done by anyone, anytime, anyplace.

“Most of us have stressful lives but just taking a few minutes out to put down the mobile phone, switch off the emails, stop stressing about what happened yesterday or is coming up tomorrow, and focus on the here and now and the things around you can set you up well for the day.”

Entries since October 2015 on Mr Loughton’s parliamentary expenses account show claims of £662.31 for water bills in relation to his London flat.

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