Thomas Brooks (Labour politician)
Thomas Judson Brooks,
Working life
Brooks was born on Eastfield Farm at
Local politics
In 1924 Brooks was appointed Chairman of Wakefield and Pontefract War Pension Committee and made a
Election to Parliament
When the Labour MP
Spiritualism
Brooks' most pressing issue was that of Spiritualism, as he was an ardent spiritualist himself. He led delegations from the Spiritualists' National Union to the Home Secretary over what spiritualists believed was heavy-handed policing, and in 1943 obtained a concession that action would only be taken in the most extreme cases of misrepresentation. However, after the prosecution of medium Helen Duncan in 1944, the Spiritualists decided to campaign for a change in the law.
With
Brooks retired from Parliament at the 1951 general election.
References
- Obituary, The Times, 17 February 1958
- Who Was Who, A & C Black
- Malcolm Gaskill, "Hellish Nell: Last of Britain's Witches" (Fourth Estate, 2001)