Tory MP reveals secret to success - an hour long bath every morning

A Conservative MP has revealed that he kicks off the day with an hour long bath to "think about things."

Tim Loughton said that having a bath was like "going to the gym for the mind" as he co-hosted a mindfulness conference in Westminster. 

The MP for East Worthing and Shoreham said 20 MPs from 15 countries around the world had gathered in London to "promote mindfulness as one way of dealing with the mental illness epidemic."

Mr Loughton, who is the co-chair if the all-party parliamentary group on mindfulness, told the conference yesterday: "I spend up to an hour in the morning just thinking about things.

"One of the greatest causes of stress in the world was the invention of the shower."

He added that it was " like going to the gym for the mind", according to The Times. 

Mr Loughton, who enjoyed a career as a fund manager in the City before becoming an MP,  later said on Twitter: "Think I get a lot more work done in my bath at 6am with a bit of mindfulness practice thrown in than spending an hour in bed - try it!"

Politicians enjoyed a meditation session yesterday with the American Jon Kabat-Zinn, who has been described by one MP as “the godfather of mindfulness”.

The day's conference was organised in the wake of abuse MPs revealed they were subjected to on social media.