‘On your bike!’ – MP supports Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal

This week David Warburton MP for Somerton and Frome, the Director General of The Royal British Legion and over 80 other Members of Parliament raced against the clock on an exercise bike to raise money for The Royal British Legion’s annual Poppy Appeal.

The 12-hour bike ride was held from 8am to 8pm in Portcullis House, Parliament and aimed to raise money for the Legion’s national Poppy Appeal.

David Warburton represented his local constituency by cycling as far as he could in five minutes, with the hope of topping the leaderboard and beating last year’s winner David Davies, MP for Monmouth in South Wales, who cycled an impressive 2.46 miles in five minutes. David Warburton managed to cycle 1.60 miles in five minutes.

The bike ride was organised by the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) in association with The Royal British Legion and follows on from the successful bike ride held in 2015 where 77 MPs and Peers cycled a total of 128.8 miles in 12 hours.

Members of the Welsh Assembly also undertook the same challenge as the two legislatures aimed to collectively cycle the distance from Westminster to the Somme in France, to mark this year’s centenary of the Battle of the Somme.

MPs were encouraged to donate as they took part, with all of the money raised on the day going to help The Royal British Legion provide lifelong support for the Armed Forces community. The Central Parliament Poppy Appeal is the only charity that can fundraise in Parliament. 

David Warburton MP said, “I’d like to thank the Industry and Parliament Trust and The Royal British Legion for arranging this event. The Royal British Legion provides invaluable support to the Armed Forces community; its fantastic to have been able to support such a great cause, although it took me a while to get my breath back.”