He attended Chatham House after he won a state scholarship and there was exposed to snobbery and exclusion by fellow students as he came from a working class family.

It started when I was in the Metropolitan Police and I was standing at Charing Cross in the pouring rain directing traffic.

[6] Upon entering Parliament he stated his support for the armed forces, opposition to abortion and his desire for the Labour Party to return to what it stood for under previous leader Norman Kirk (whom he admired greatly).

[7] During the controversial Fourth Labour Government Braybrooke was chairman of the communications and road safety select committee.

After the defeat of the government in 1990 he was appointed Shadow Minister of Transport and Disabilities by leader Mike Moore.

[8] He supported Moore when he was successfully challenged by Helen Clark after Labour narrowly lost the 1993 election.

[10] Braybrooke was one of the more socially conservative members of the Labour Party and was at times he was offside with liberal-minded colleagues.

"[3] In 1985, when his fellow Labour MP Fran Wilde attempted to overturn legal prohibitions against homosexuality, Braybrooke was active in campaigning against the change, and later opposed measures promoted by National's Katherine O'Regan to combat discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

[12] He opposed Helen Clark's rise to the Labour Party's leadership, remaining strongly loyal to her predecessor, Mike Moore.

[13] When he retired from politics, however, he praised Clark in his valedictory speech as "one of the great Labour leaders," and said with regard to his vote for Moore over her that "It just shows that we can all make mistakes and we can all learn.

"[14] Throughout his career in Parliament, Braybrooke never had ambition to hold any ministerial roles, but did serve as Deputy Speaker and Labour defence spokesperson.