Antony Higginbotham MP wins first ever Parliamentary Physical Activity Challenge

The office of Antony Higginbotham MP has been named as the winner of the inaugural ukactive Parliamentary Physical Activity Challenge, held in partnership with fitness tech brand Myzone.

More than 40 people took part in the challenge, from 18 different offices of both MPs and Peers. Participants ranged from 22 to 74 years of age and covered all four countries within the United Kingdom.

The Challenge saw MPs, peers and staff use Myzone devices to track their physical activity levels over four weeks in order to obtain Myzone Effort Points (MEPs). MEPs measure effort rather than distance or time spent exercising, and therefore reward people for being more physically active regardless of their fitness levels.

MEP scores for all participants in each office were tallied and divided by the number of participants in each team.

The top five offices (MEPs shown as average per team):

1. Antony Higginbotham MP (Conservative, Burnley) – 11,846 MEPs
2. Lord Caithness (Conservative) – 11,375 MEPs
3. Martyn Day MP (SNP, Linlithgow and East Falkirk) – 7,999 MEPs
4. Damian Green MP (Conservative, Ashford) – 7,100 MEPs
5. Kim Leadbeater MP (Labour, Batley and Spen) – 6,118 MEPs

One participant described it as “an educational event” to try, with the challenge set to grow next year as more teams from across Parliament are encouraged take part.

Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive: “We were delighted to see the energy, appetite and competitive spirit of all the teams, MPs and Peers who took part in our first Parliamentary Physical Activity Challenge.

“We congratulate the office of Antony Higginbotham MP for achieving the highest score and every participant in every team should be proud of their efforts to prioritise physical activity in their daily lives.

“From the feedback we have received, we know this challenge helped demonstrated to MPs, Peers, and their staff the importance of incorporating physical activity into their working day.

“In a challenging time for the fitness and leisure sector, we want to ensure our legislators appreciate fully the importance of physical activity both for themselves and the communities they serve.”