Seven memorable moments in the life of the Labor legend

John Prescott, the Labor stalwart who rose from cruise ship steward to deputy prime minister in a record decade, has died aged 86.

Former prime ministers Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown led tributes to Lord Prescott, one of the most colorful politicians of his time.

Here are seven of his most memorable moments.

Prescott has been a Labor MP since 1970 – and had made two failed attempts to become the party’s deputy leader, when he stepped onto the stage of the party’s conference in Brighton in 1993, to give a speech about his life.

John Smith, the leader of the Labor Party, is trying to push through a controversial change to switch to one-member-one voting for parliamentary candidates, in the face of strong opposition from many trade unions who see it as a dilution of their power.

With Smith facing the possibility of defeat and, perhaps, the end of his leadership, he turned to Prescott – a lifelong unionist – to win over the waverers.

Despite his later reputation for mangling words, Prescott’s performance in the conference hall was an impassioned tour de force.

“There is no doubt that this man, our leader, put his head on the block… He has put his head there, now it’s time to vote. Give him a little trust,” he said.

He never looked back. When Smith died more than six months later, Prescott – at his third attempt – was elected deputy Labor leader, and became deputy PM in 1997.

In December 1997, a British delegation led by the deputy PM played a major role in approving the landmark. The Kyoto Protocol about climate change.

For the first time, almost all UN member states have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that man-made CO2 is causing global warming.

Negotiations in Japan have passed their deadline and there are fears that no deal will be reached.

Climate campaigner and US Vice-President Al Gore said Prescott “fought like hell” for the agreement and was “a relentless champion of climate action for decades to come”.

He “has the ability to connect with people on issues that are important to them — a talent that other people take time to learn and train, but it’s second nature to him,” Gore added.

Prescott himself said, if he is remembered for only one thing, it will be for punching during the 2001 general election campaign.

The campaign itself is not remembered, as Labor returned to power with a majority in the Commons four years earlier.

Arriving for a party rally in Rhyl, Denbighshire, a pro-hunting supporter cracked an egg on Prescott’s head.

As the TV cameras continued to roll, the PM’s representative he answered with a left hook.

A scuffle ensued, but was quickly broken up by onlookers and the police.

Blair’s communications chief Alastair Campbell told Prescott he should make a public apology. He refused.

At a morning press conference, Blair said it would be better if it didn’t happen, while adding: “John is John”.

The incident did not affect Prescott’s or Labour’s ratings in the polls.

Prescott was given the nickname “the two Jags” by the press after it was revealed that he used two Jaguar cars – one his own and the other a ministerial car.

During the Labor conference in Bournemouth in 1999, his government car took him 250 meters from the hotel to the conference centre.

On stage, as environment and transport secretary, he then urged motorists to reduce carbon emissions by using public transport.

He later claimed that he got into the car because his wife, Pauline, didn’t like having her hair blown on the beach.

In 2021, Lord Prescott announced that he had decided to make “his own small contribution to reducing carbon emissions”.

“Now I have zero Jags – selling cars or eating fish and chips with a lower carbon footprint will not save the planet, but as the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said: ‘Great actions are made of small actions’,” he written in The Times.

Son of David to the BBC his father has given up the car for good.

When Prescott became deputy PM in 1997, he was also given the enormous portfolio of secretary of state for the new Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

In 2001, it was broken up, with separate departments for the environment, food and rural affairs, and for transport, hived off.

One of Prescott’s passions is devolution for the English regions – to follow Scotland and Wales – although the regional assemblies he elects will have fewer powers.

Due to the scale of opposition to the plan, the government held a referendum on it in 2004, in the North-East region where support was considered strongest.

The result was a bitter pill for Prescott to swallow, with 78% of the votes against devolution. Young Dominic Cummings is the mastermind behind the Nobody wins campaign, testing the tactics and messages to be used in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Prescott’s plan for a rapidly elected regional assembly was scrapped.

However, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, cabinet minister under Gordon Brown, said Prescott was the first person to give the north of England a political profile and paved the way for later devolution to metro mayors.

Prescott briefly appeared in the hit TV comedy Gavin & Stacey in 2010.

In the third series of the BBC show, Ruth Jones’ character Nessa Jenkins regularly recalls her previous fictional relationships with celebrities including Prescott.

In the last episode, he making a cameo appearance as himselfcame as a guest at Nessa’s wedding as she prepared to marry her fiance Dave Coaches.

He entered the church and congratulated Dave, who replied, “Congratulations John, nice to meet you.”

Prescott wrote on his blog: “Maybe I should accept that I lost to better people.”

According to Nessa on screen, she gave him “full use of one of the Jags”.

For many Labor supporters and activists, there is a sense that Prescott provides an antidote to the spin and good presentation of New Labour.

Often ridiculed by parliamentary sketch writers for mangling English, to his supporters he appears to be an ordinary person facing intellectual bullying by better educated people.

His favorite movie is Billy Elliot, the story of a northern working-class boy who fights poverty and prejudice and poverty to become a famous ballet dancer.

Prescott said he has seen it five times since it first came out in 2000. He also revealed it made people cry.