The Right Honourable Tom Brake MP |
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Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesman | |
Assumed office 29 July 2015 |
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Leader | Tim Farron |
Preceded by | Tim Farron |
Liberal Democrat Chief Whip | |
Assumed office 29 July 2015 |
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Leader | Tim Farron |
Preceded by | Don Foster |
Lib Dem Shadow Leader of the House of Commons | |
Assumed office 7 January 2015 |
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Leader |
Nick Clegg Tim Farron |
Preceded by | David Heath |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Commons |
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In office 4 September 2012 – 8 May 2015 |
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Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | David Heath |
Succeeded by | Therese Coffey |
Member of Parliament for Carshalton and Wallington |
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Assumed office 1 May 1997 |
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Preceded by | Nigel Forman |
Majority | 1,510 (3.2%) |
Personal details | |
Born |
Thomas Anthony Brake 6 May 1962 Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England |
Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Spouse(s) | Candida Goulden |
Alma mater | Imperial College London |
Website |
Official website parliament..tom-brake |
Thomas Anthony Brake (born 6 May 1962) is a British Liberal Democrat politician and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carshalton and Wallington in southwest London.
Brake was born in Melton Mowbray and moved to France when he was eight. He was educated at the Lycée International school in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the western suburbs of Paris, and Imperial College London, where he obtained a BSc in Physics in 1983. He was a computer software consultant with Hoskyns (Capgemini) from 1983 until his election to the UK Parliament in 1997.
Brake was actively involved in human rights issues as a student. He was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Hackney in 1988, leaving the council in 1990. In 1994 Brake was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Sutton and sat on the council until 1998.
Brake stood for election to Parliament at the 1992 general election in Carshalton and Wallington, but was defeated by Conservative Nigel Forman.
In what proved to be a close contest, Brake was elected at the 1997 general election as the Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington, beating Nigel Forman with a majority of 2,267, and has remained the MP since. He made his maiden speech on 10 June 1997. Brake defeated Conservative Ken Andrew in 2001, 2005 and again in 2010 with an increased majority. In 2015 his majority was lessened to 1,510, narrowly ahead of Conservative Matthew Maxwell-Scott.