A political career that once held such promise has come to a sudden and tragic end.
The news that an ex-Conservative MP dies has shocked the political world this weekend. David Warburton, who represented Somerset and Frome for eight years, was found dead at his Chelsea flat last Tuesday. He was just 59 years old.
Police were called to his west London address on August 26th after paramedics couldn’t save him. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed his death is being treated as “unexpected but not suspicious” – which means there’s nothing to suggest anything criminal happened.
This story of how an ex-Conservative MP dies brings back memories of Westminster’s most dramatic scandals. For those who remember the headlines from a couple of years ago, Warburton’s story became one of the most explosive political falls from grace in recent years.
The Rise and Fall of a Political Career
David Warburton first entered Parliament in 2015, winning his Somerset seat with a massive majority. He seemed like a typical Conservative MP – successful businessman turned politician, representing a safe Tory constituency in the countryside.
Things looked pretty good for him initially. He got re-elected in 2017 with an even bigger majority and was given a junior role in government as a Parliamentary Private Secretary. People in his constituency liked him, and he appeared to be climbing the political ladder.
But everything changed in 2022.
That’s when allegations surfaced that would destroy his political career and eventually lead to the tragic news that this ex-Conservative MP dies under such sad circumstances.
The scandal that would ultimately result in an ex-Conservative MP dies story began in April 2022 when three women made serious accusations against Warburton.
When Scandal Hit Westminster
The scandal broke in April 2022 when three women made serious accusations against Warburton.But he strongly denied all the harassment allegations, claiming he’d been set up. He described himself as “naive and incredibly stupid” but insisted the sexual misconduct claims weren’t true.
The Conservative Party immediately suspended him, and Parliament’s harassment investigators launched a full investigation. The stress was clearly enormous – Warburton ended up being admitted to a psychiatric hospital for shock and severe stress.
Fighting the System
What made Warburton’s case unusual was how hard he fought back against the parliamentary investigation process. The circumstances that led to this ex-Conservative MP dies story were partly shaped by his defiant stance against what he saw as unfair treatment. Most MPs who get into trouble tend to keep quiet and hope it all blows over. Not Warburton.
He claimed the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme wasn’t giving him a fair hearing. He said the process was biased against him and that he wasn’t being allowed to properly defend himself while the investigation dragged on for 14 months.
By June 2023, he’d had enough. Warburton resigned from Parliament, saying he had “no choice” but to quit and trigger a by-election. He felt the parliamentary authorities had already made up their minds about him.
His resignation speech was defiant. He said the MeToo movement’s “pendulum has swung too far” and needed to “swing back” to a fairer place.
What Happened After He Left
The by-election that followed Warburton’s resignation was a disaster for the Conservatives. His seat, which had a majority of over 19,000, was won by the Liberal Democrats with an 11,000 majority going the other way. It was seen as a major blow to Rishi Sunak’s government at the time.
But there was a twist in Warburton’s story. After he’d already quit Parliament, the Independent Expert Panel – a group of judges who review parliamentary investigations – overturned the original findings. They ruled that the allegations should be investigated further, but by then the women involved had withdrawn all their complaints.
Friends say Warburton had been trying to rebuild his life after politics. Former MP Simon Danczuk told reporters: “He had really got back on track after having a difficult time in politics. He was doing very well in business, running an energy company, and had a great team around him.”
Danczuk had met Warburton for drinks in Belgravia just a few months ago and said he seemed to be doing well.
The Other Scandal
Warburton’s troubles weren’t just about the harassment allegations. In 2022, Parliament’s standards investigators found he’d broken MPs’ rules by failing to declare a £150,000 loan from a Russian businessman.
The money came from Roman Joukovski through a company based in the Seychelles. Warburton had used it as a mortgage deposit to turn his old family home into a buy-to-let property back in 2017.
He claimed he didn’t declare it because the loan was “entirely unconnected with either my role as an MP or any parliamentary activities.” The standards commissioner was satisfied the money hadn’t influenced his parliamentary work, but it was still another mark against his name.
A Life Before Politics
Before entering Parliament, Warburton had been a successful businessman and teacher. He founded Pitch Entertainment Group, which became quite successful in the music and entertainment industry.
He was also involved in various parliamentary committees, including chairing the all-party group for music and sitting on the European Scrutiny Committee. Colleagues described him as talented and passionate about his constituency work.
Warburton was married to Harriet Baker-Bates, a public relations professional, and they had two children together. Those who knew him say he was a devoted family man who cared deeply about representing his Somerset constituents.
The Political Impact
The news that this ex-Conservative MP dies comes at a time when the party is still rebuilding after their devastating general election defeat. While Warburton had been out of politics for over a year, his death serves as a reminder of the human cost of political scandals.
His former seat of Somerset and Frome was actually abolished in boundary changes before the 2024 election, so it no longer exists as a constituency. But the Liberal Democrat who replaced him, Sarah Dyke, paid tribute to his constituency work despite their political differences.
Former Conservative MP Marcus Fysh, who represented nearby Yeovil, said: “David was a talented and sensitive person with a great flair for words and passion for his constituents.”
The Final Chapter
The circumstances around how this ex-Conservative MP dies remain private, as they should be for his family’s sake. Police have made it clear there’s nothing suspicious about his death, and that should be respected.
What’s tragic is how a political career that started with such promise ended in scandal and resignation. Warburton maintained until the end that he’d been treated unfairly by Parliament’s investigation process, and some of the allegations against him were indeed later withdrawn.
Whether you believe his version of events or not, the fact that this ex-Conservative MP dies so young is genuinely sad. Politics can be a brutal business, and the pressure of public scandal clearly took a huge toll on him and his family.
His death serves as a reminder that behind every political story are real people dealing with real consequences. Whatever mistakes Warburton may have made, nobody deserves to have their life end this way at just 59 years old.
The political world will remember him as a controversial figure, but his family and genuine friends will remember him as much more than the headlines that defined his final years in public life.
