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David Cameron reveals how he keeps fit and fresh as PM David Cameron reveals how he keeps fit and fresh as PM
(about 3 hours later)
David Cameron has revealed his secret to keeping fit in mind and body as prime minister – get an early night and delegate. David Cameron has fessed up to life as "Chillaxing Dave" when he admitted in Mumbai on Monday that he takes something of a laidback approach to avoid ending up "mentally fried".
Cameron said he tries to have a run and a game of tennis every week, but admitted he does not always manage to fit them in. Looking relatively relaxed after a nine-hour flight from London (in first class naturally), the prime minister broke with Margaret Thatcher when he spoke of the importance of a good night's sleep and in delegating to a team who "get things done".
He also said a prime minister would be "hopeless" if he or she allowed themselves to become "exhausted and fried mentally" by overwork. Thatcher famously survived in No 10 on three hours' sleep a night, usually after an evening lubricated by whisky, and went to great lengths to ensure her writ ran across Whitehall.
The PM's approach contrasts markedly with the regime followed by his predecessor Margaret Thatcher, who famously said she slept as little as four hours a night during her time at 10 Downing Street. The prime minister spoke of his downtime when he was asked at a PM Direct event in Mumbai how he copes with the pressures of his job.
During a question and answer session with workers at Unilever's headquarters in Mumbai, India, Cameron was asked how he kept fit, given the pressures of his job. "I try and stay a little bit fit," he said. "I try and go for a run a week, I try to play a game of tennis every week and I try not to go to bed too late. But like all these things that doesn't always work."
He replied: "In terms of how I try to keep body and soul together, I try to stay a little bit fit. The prime minister, who has been accused of occasionally adopting a lackadaisical approach to his job, admitted that he likes to share tasks in the office. "The most important things is to have a very good team around you. That is the most important thing – to make sure you can delegate and you can have a team you can work with and get things done for you."
"So I try to go for a run a week, I try to play a game of tennis every week and I try not to go to bed too late. Cameron gave a simple reason for unwinding. "As I always say, if you are exhausted and if you are fried mentally you will be a hopeless prime minister. You have to try and keep a good equilibrium and balance and then hopefully you can make good decisions."
"Like all these things, that doesn't always work, but the most important thing is to have a very good team around you to make sure you can delegate and have a team you can work with and get things done for you."
He added: "If you are exhausted and if you are fried mentally, you will be a hopeless prime minister.
"You have to try to keep a good equilibrium and balance and then hopefully you can make good decisions."