Tom Brake

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Tom Brake MP

Member of Parliament for Carshalton and Wallington
Incumbent
Assumed office 01 May 1997
Preceded by	Nigel Forman

Born	6 May 1962 (1962-05-06) (age 46)
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal Democrat
Spouse	Candida Goulden

Thomas Anthony Brake, known as Tom Brake, (born 6 May 1962) British politician. He is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Carshalton and Wallington.

Tom Brake was born in Melton Mowbray and educated at the Lycée International School in Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris, and Imperial College London, where he obtained a degree in physics. He was a computer software consultant with Hoskyns from 1983 until his election to Westminster. He was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Hackney in 1988, leaving the council in 1990. He stood for election to Parliament at the 1992 General Election at Carshalton and Wallington and was defeated by nearly 10,000 votes by the sitting Conservative MP Nigel Forman.

In 1994 Tom Brake was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Sutton and sat on the council until 1998. In what proved to be a close contest, Tom Brake was elected as the Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington beating Nigel Foreman with a majority of 2,267, and has remained the MP narrowly since. He made his maiden speech on June 10, 1997. Nigel Forman retired after the 1997 election and was replaced by a new candidate in the shape of Ken Andrew, whom Brake defeated in 2001 and 2005.

After the 1997 election, party leader Paddy Ashdown placed Tom Brake in the frontline straight away as a spokesman on the Environment, Transport and the Regions. Following the 2001 General Election, then party leader Charles Kennedy appointed him a spokesman on Transport, Local Government and the Regions. In 2002 he became a Transport spokesman. He joined the Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team in 2003 as the lead International Development spokesman. After the 2005 General Election he became the Transport spokesman. He was alleviated of this position under the new leadership of Sir Menzies Campbell in March 2006, and he later that year became spokesperson for local government. In February of 2007, he was also appointed as the party’s frontbench spokesperson for London.

Tom Brake spent ten years living in France during his childhood and speaks fluent French with some Portuguese and Russian. He is married to Candida Goulden, and they have two children. He keeps fit by running and cycling.

Tom Brake is the Secretary of the All-Party Group for World Government, Treasurer of the All-Party Human Rights group, a member of the Franco British Parliamentary Relations group, as well as a governor of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.

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