Warburton, David

David Warburton was elected as the Conservative MP for Somerton and Frome in 2015, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 19,213.

In April 2022, Mr Warburton was suspended from the parliamentary Conservative party following a series of Sunday newspaper allegations.  The BBC reported that the allegations involved claims of sexual harrasment.

Mr Warburton resigned from being an MP in June 2023.

The constituency of Somerton and Frome is a large rural seat found on the eastern side of the county of Somerset. Containing the Mendip Hills, this seat includes the market towns of Somerton, Bruton, Langport, and Frome.  It also includes the town of Wincanton known for its race course and distribution industry.

Somerton and Frome was a tight Lib Dem – Conservative marginal, first won by the Liberal Democrats in 1997.  The Lib Dems held the seat until 2015 albeit with some of the continually closest results seen anywhere in the country.  The majority here failed to exceed three figures in three elections running.  Since 2015 the Liberal Democrat vote in this seat has collapsed from close to half to little more than a quarter, and the Conservatives have been winning here with quite substantial majorities as a result.  Voters in this area was almost exactly evenly split on the issue of Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.

Born in 1965, David Warburton was educated at grammar school in Reading.  He then studied at the Royal College of Music, where he was a recipient of the Octavia Scholarship. He graduated in 1993 with a degree and a masters degree M.Mus.(Lond.) Dip.RCM.(Perf.) in music composition.

He had been lead guitarist and keyboard player in a succession of rock bands during his youth.

Before becoming an MP, Warburton was initially a teacher, teaching music in an inner London comprehensive school.

He later became an extremely successful entrepreneur and businessman.  He founded The Music Solution Ltd (TMS) in 1999, initially providing downloadable music content to mobile phone networks and brands.

By 2005, TMS had become Pitch Entertainment Group, headquartered in Covent Garden, with operations in Australasia, Asia, South Africa, the US and across Europe. Involved in ring tones, by  2007 the firm was listed by the Sunday Times as the UK’s 6th fastest growing technology company, and it was acquired for an undisclosed sum by US mobile content provider PlayPhone Inc.

In 2012, Warburton set up the online business, MyHigh.St, which aimed to allow local independent retailers to offer their products online. He also moved into property development, and according to the Register of Members Interests, he remains a shareholder of Oflang Limited, a property development company.

Warburton supported Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.

He backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.

In 2016, he was one of just a handful of Conservative MPs who rebelled against the government, urging them to take in more child refugees from camps in Calais and Dunkirk.

He is the Founder and Chairman of The Pulse Youth Orchestra.

David Warburton is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Music.  He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Adult Social Care; Art, Craft and Design in Education; Music Education; and the South West.

Warburton is married with two children.  He employs his wife as a Communications Officer and Parliamentary Assistant.  Mr Warburton claimed to have lost some six stone in weight having followed a rigorous exercise regime during the coronovirus pandemic.

Email: david.warburton.mp@parliament.uk

Personal Website: http://davidwarburton.org/

Twitter: twitter.com/DJWarburton

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DavidWarburtonSomertonAndFrome