Peter Brookes has been producing daily political cartoons for The Times since 1992, distilling the nation’s political frustrations into one biting image to a looming deadline.

How did you get started at The Times?

After art school, I worked as freelance illustrator for magazines and newspaper features, one of which was The Times. I was asked whether I would be interested in doing the political cartoon however it didn’t initially work out. Then in 1992, I decided that I felt so annoyed with myself for not giving it a proper chance, I asked if I could have another shot. And luckily for me, they said yes.

Did you set out to be political cartoonist?

No, I just wanted to draw. But it’s a bit of a dead end illustrating somebody else’s thoughts, you really want your own. And that is the great thing about my job, it’s my own space and my own voice, I’m not echoing somebody else.

Who is your favourite politician to draw?

I enjoyed drawing Ed Miliband, David Cameron and Nigel Farage – whoever I feel I can get angriest at. Blair is terrific when he pops up.

What has been your most controversial political cartoon?

My cartoon of Pope Benedict XVI with a giant condom on his head. The tip of the condom has a pin through it. It was after the Pope declared on a trip to Africa that condoms were not the solution to the Aids epidemic ravaging the continent. My cartoon caused an instant storm but I felt strongly that he was talking through his (papal) hat.

What is the nature of ‘respect’ and ‘offence’ for a political cartoonist?

No one is off-limits but I have no interest in giving offence for the sake of it, it’s a mugs game. I want to give offence in the context of what is happening politically on a day-to-day basis and it’s far better to go for targets that people like.

Cartoonists like myself don’t have answers, I am not a politician or a policy expert, I don’t understand the whys and wherefores of a lot of things, all I can do is use common sense to make sense of the biggest issues of the day, as the readers do. I am just a guy that, through huge luck and good fortune, has the space to sound off about it.

Do you ever have strong feelings about a story but unable to translate it into a cartoon?

Yes, often. The biggest bug bear of what I do is when you’ve got a thought about something and you don’t know how to translate it. And I am sure other cartoonists feel the same. My job is to reduce quite complex events or ideas into a single image. And that is sometimes quite difficult to do. The practicality is very natural to me, but there can be occasions when what you want to say is up there and you’re down here and not able to make it work.

What is your advice for budding political cartoonist?

My advice is just keep plugging away. It is very difficult to be a political cartoonist when you’re in an unreal situation without a deadline and you’re unable to see the finished product in the paper at the end of the day. There are also only so many openings for political cartoonists in newspapers and magazines. You just have to hope, as with me, that you take your stuff round, show people it, and eventually you will get your break. People always remember you if you’re good.

What other cartoonists do you admire?

I like the work of a lot of my opposites on other newspapers. There’s an American cartoonist who I admire greatly called Michael Ramirez, he’s not well known and I don’t necessary agree with his politics but I like the way he solves the days problems.

What are your five essentials on your desk at The Times?

1. Damien Hirst diamond skull – my version cost £14 not £50 million

2. Paint box

3. Brushes

4. Electric pencil sharpener

5. A hairdryer – for a bald man this is incredibly important, essential to drying watercolours when a deadline is approaching.