Biog
Brooks lives in the heart of the constituency with his family. Prior to entering Parliament Brooks was a Partner of Apollo Management LP, a leading venture capital firm.
Brooks is an active member of his local community, including: fighting for a new Community Hospital in Braintree; supporting the Cressing A120 Action Group; pressing for better rail link services for Braintree and Kelvedon; opposing the expansion of Stansted; campaigning against the closure of several rural post offices; fighting for disabled access to the main shopping area in Braintree; pressing for more investment in local flood prevention schemes; and campaigning to stop anti-social behaviour in our towns.
In addition to spending as much time as possible with his children, Brooks is a keen Newcastle United supporter (and season ticket holder), and enjoys skiing and long-distance running. Brooks is involved in numerous charities, including Get Kids Going! PARC and Farleigh Hospice.
Brooks' Experience
At the 2001 General Election Brooks fought a vigorous campaign in Braintree and came within 358 votes of winning the seat back for the Conservatives.
As Ben MacIntyre reported in The Times just after the General Election, Brooks was "the Conservative Candidate who most impressed me this year....His vigorous determination to appeal to moderate Labour voters, while anchored in Party bedrock, was reminiscent of the tactics used by Labour in 1997 and Bush in 2000." (The Times, 9 June, 2001).
Brooks was unanimously readopted as the Party's Parliamentary Candidate in September 2002 and was elected as a Member of Parliament in May 2005. Brooks has served as a member of the Science and Technology Committee (2005-7) and the Treasury Select Committee (2006-7). Brooks was promoted to the Whips’ Office in July 2007, serving first as the Treasury Whip and currently as the Foreign Affairs Whip.
Brooks’ special interests include: Economic Policy, Foreign Policy (Middle East, India, China & US), Poverty Reduction & International Development (Micro Finance), Special Needs Education, and Women's Issues (Healthcare & Politics).
Brooks has published a number of papers on debt: ‘Simply Red: The True State of the Public Finances’ (CPS, 2006), ‘The Price of Irresponsibility’ (CPS, 2008) and ‘The Hidden Debt Bombshell’ (CPS, 2009).
Brooks is also a Board Director at Harvard University (Harvard Alumni Assoication), co-chairman of the Party’s Women2Win campaign, and on the Advisory Board of London Business School’s Private Equity Institute.
