Mick Brooks 1948-2021

Mick leading a Karl Marx walking tour.

Mick Brooks who was the Political Secretary of the Labour Representation Committee has died from complications caused by COVID-19. He was admitted to West Middlesex hospital on Boxing Day where medical staff tried for over a week to save his life.

Mick was born in Eastleigh, Hampshire, one of five children. His father was a French polisher and mother a housewife. He went to the local grammar school and then on to Chelmsford Polytechnic where he studied law. However, he soon discovered that his real passion was politics. Like many young people at the time he was politicised by the war in Vietnam and went on many anti-war demonstrations. He joined the Labour Party Young Socialists (LPYS) as a teenager. He moved to Acton in the late 1960s.

Mick motivated many people to get involved in political activity. He always regarded himself as a Marxist. He was able to explain in simple terms the importance of Marxist economics and how the capitalist system works. He wrote regularly for socialist publications, including Labour Briefing.  Days before he was admitted to hospital he was planning to write an article on the government’s Brexit deal.  In 2012 he wrote a book on the causes of capitalist crises. He had a sharp sense of humour which endeared him to many comrades.

Mick was also consistently active throughout his life in the labour movement. He was secretary of the Ealing Anti-Poll Tax Federation in the 1990s. More recently he was chair of the West London UNITE community branch and active in the Ealing Save our NHS Campaign, attending street stalls, demos and lobbies on a regular basis. He was the political education officer for the Ealing Southall constituency. Last year he organised a public meeting to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of Blair Peach.

I have known Mick for over 40 years. We first met when he was speaking at a meeting of Acton LPYS in 1971 on child poverty. I was then a student at Sussex home for the holidays. We got to know each other when I moved back to west London. He was my partner and soul-mate in every sense of the words. He supported and inspired me and many others and indeed made us what we are.

Barbara Humphries

Mick and Barbara with Ealing banner

We are so sad to hear of the death of Mick Brooks. His contribution to the labour movement will be greatly missed. Mick was the co-author of a pamphlet commissioned by the FBU which made the case for public ownership of the banking system. Alongside this, he had also delivered education sessions to FBU activists on economic issues. He brought his knowledge and a sense of humour to these discussions, which enabled him to engage workers in lively debate on complex issues in a friendly and encouraging way.

I first met Mick when I was a member of the Labour Party Young Socialists. He will be remembered by many of my generation as someone with a wide understanding of the issues affecting our movement. He knew history, philosophy, economics and political theory and could discuss them all in ways which would engage people whether they shared his knowledge or not. He was clever, witty and humble. Above all he remained a Marxist and a socialist activist all his life. He will be very much missed.

Matt  Wrack, General Secretary, Fire Brigades Union

I worked with Mick for a relatively short time as a fellow member of the LRC NEC and hugely valued his support and generosity with his vast knowledge. I learned a lot from him - about politics of course, and also importantly on how true comrades conduct themselves and work collectively. His kindness and humour shone through in all our debates and projects. Although we mourn his loss with great sorrow, the fact that he was a true role model and educator means that everyone who worked with Mick will have benefited from his wisdom and energy - and we will take that forward in our political work.

Cathy Augustine

Mick had an impact on my life from the moment he appeared at my LPYS in Acton. 
We became friends and comrades and I can truthfully say he was instrumental in changing my life. 
Mick’s knowledge and enthusiasm for imparting it to those that would listen, formed the basis for our participation in the labour movement for many years. 

No meeting was ever complete without a concise, authoritative and utterly reasonable contribution from Mick, usually delivered with wit and an element of humour. We all knew he had a sense of humour when he told us he supported Southampton. 

I’m angry that his death is in large part due to the incompetence of his class enemies and their handling of the pandemic. I have no doubt he would have had a few choice words for them. 

I am proud to have known Mick as a friend and comrade. RIP brother. 

Tony Loftus (Ealing-Acton CLP, suspended)

I wasn't one of the many comrades who had the privilege to know Mick for decades. But for the more than ten years I shared coffees, worked on Labour Briefing, and had political conversations with Mick - during the most joyous, stressful, testing, triumphant and disappointing of political times - I learned enough to admire and respect him. His sense of humour was only matched his political thoughtfulness and kindness. He never wavered in his commitment to the oppressed and the struggle for justice for all people. Mick will be missed by us all.

Jackie Walker

Our friend and comrade Mick has been taken by Covid.

For such an unassuming person, Mick was known by huge numbers of people. His are shoulders that many socialists still stand on. He explained socialism and economics in clearly, simply and with humour, effortlessly ignoring the media bullshit and mystification.

Mick penned pamphlets and books, spoke at meetings, led walks and organised – all without appearing to have an egotistical bone in his body. He and Barbara would quietly turn up to help with local leafleting and protests, just supporting the movement from the grass roots.

We remember them from the LPYS, Miners Strike, the huge Ealing Federation against the Poll Tax and much more..

Ciao Mick.

Oliver New, Ealing TUC

I have fond memories of hearing Mick speak in the 1970s when I joined the Labour Party Young Socialists (LPYS) as a school student. Mick’s explanation of Marxist economics enabled me to increase my understanding and sharpen my ability to argue from a Marxist perspective, increasingly useful as an LPYS member in the West Midlands. I continued to read Mick’s articles, sharing them with my family and friends who gained from his lucid explanation of complex Marxist theory and practice. I was delighted to make contact with Mick again through the LRC where he played a pivotal role in educating newer comrades with his customary humility and humour. Mick and Barbara’s activism and dedication to revolutionary change will continue to inspire me and newer generations. I keenly feel his loss and look forward to collectively celebrating Mick’s life with Barbara, post Covid-19.

Alison McGarry, chair, Islington North CLP

Terrible news. Another victim from COVID-19 for Marxism and the labour movement. Mick Brooks, British Marxist economist, revolutionary and labour activist, died today,after being admitted to hospital with COVID.

I have known Mick and his partner Barbara for over 50 years, since my student days. Back in the day, Mick and I were united in defending Marx's economics against all comers. And Mick published in 2012 a much underrated book, Capitalist Crisis: theory and practice, which speaks with clarity on Marx's theory of crises.

Mick was an excellent expounder of Marxist political economy to labour activists and a dedicated activist himself, along with Barbara; and above all, a man who would always be there if you were in trouble. This a significant blow to British and international socialism and to me.

Michael Roberts

Mick Brooks was a revolutionary whose whole adult life was dedicated to the development and exposition of Marxist ideas. He was active in the Militant Tendency, the International Marxist Tendency and in the Labour Party. Over the last eight years, we worked together running the Karl Marx walking tour.

I first met Mick around 1983 at the offices of the Militant newspaper in Mentmore Terrace, near Bethnal Green in London. I believe he was in charge of the bookshop at the time. To the casual observer Mick appeared to be aloof rather than inviting, and he was more than a little insecure when circumstance compelled him to engage in small talk. But this same Mick was transformed when he rose to speak at meetings, where his character, energy and strength resonated around the room. His voice pierced the air beginning with a firmly stated “comrades”. He would speak with clarity, authority and certainty, drawing on classical references from Marxist theory and weaving this into a clear and coherent analysis of the contemporary world.

Unlike many comrades in such meetings, Mick would not speak for the sake of speaking, but always to provide some unique view, or nuanced analysis of events. When Mick rose the emphasis in the discussion often changed course. His didactic skills in Marxism were used to explain the most complex theories in the most simple language possible, without ever compromising on precision.

Thus, Mick’s book “Capitalist Crisis: Theory and Practice” was designed to address the difficulties that readers have with reading something like Marx’s Capital. Indeed, when Capital was about to go to press, Engels wrote to Marx complaining about the long chapters, about ideas not being fully explained or reinforced before moving to a new concept, which made reading Capital into a struggle. No such difficulties exist for the reader of Mick’s book.

During bitter internal conflicts in the Militant Tendency and later in the International Marxist Tendency, Mick naturally inclined against bureaucratic and personal intrigues. He always remained on the high ground of theoretical analysis. And when these Marxist political groups adopted views that he found to be in contradiction to his interpretation of basic Marxist theory and practice, he would express exasperation.

He soldiered on inside the Labour Party’s left-wing faction the Labour Representation Committee, and what became its official magazine, Labour Briefing. For many years this relatively tiny organisation, composed mainly of older comrades, was directly linked to the Jeremy Corbyn/John McDonnell faction. Despite all the ups and downs of the Corbyn wave and its eventual defeat, Mick continued to doggedly pursue work in the LRC and Labour Briefing.

Mick’s dedication, motivation and energy despite innumerable setbacks is unique to those with an eye and sense for the broad sweep of historical processes. Drawing on the insights available through Marxist research, writing, and practical intervention in struggle, Mick stood as if on a mountain top, observing the motion of the masses with an almost other-worldly objectivity.

In April 2012, Mick led our very first Karl Marx walking tour with 4 students in attendance. They were delighted with the tour. Since then, we ran tours at least once a week, meeting many thousands of people from every corner of the world. Mick’s special didactic skills helped people at all levels of knowledge to grasp in a couple of hours what it might otherwise take weeks or months to learn. He drew on his entire life’s experience to furnish his exposition with the same precision and didactic clarity that marked his character and work.

It was always a pleasure to see Mick walking around Soho followed by a crowd. Often, in the British Museum’s Enlightenment Gallery, when he summarised the life and ideas of Marx, a cheeky sparkle flashed in his eye, as he drew Marx’s life story to an end. The story of Marx’s death was always followed by an affirmation of the vitality of his ideas.

A great deal of Mick Brook’s written work was published in pamphlets and documents that are no longer in print or circulation. Over the next months, I hope we can make much of his work available online.

My deepest condolences go to his partner Barbara Humphries and to his family.

Heiko Khoo

I knew Mick for over 40 years. Mick is the original fountain of knowledge, but with the ability to explain things gently and laced with humor. Discussions would set me on the path to find out more. He taught me to think differently; to establish facts, to appreciate the impact of history, to think wider and mostly to avoid the temptation of supporting simple solutions.

Rightly Mick is defined by his politics, someone who never wavered. His political skills included a genuine intellect, outstanding orator and writer and whether speaking or writing, he would break down complex subjects into understandable building blocks.  As well as his political contributions, lets not forget that he had a great sense of humor, made ferocious home-made beer and loved cricket. He was always modest and so kind. Knowing Mick has been a privilege.

Larry O’Callaghan

We will be adding more tributes to this page as we receive them.