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Gordon Brown pays tribute to Prescott
Andrew Sparrow
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Caroline Davies.
The former prime minister Gordon Brown has just been on the Today programme paying tribute to John Prescott. He said:
John was a friend of mine, he was a colleague, but when you think of him, he was a colossus, he was a titan of the Labour movement.
John Lennon talked about working class hero. It’s difficult to fit that term, but I think John would like that.
You’ve got to look at his achievements. He was probably the first government minister to see the importance of the environment. Kyoto, that environmental treaty in 1997, you’ve got to attribute that to John’s hard work with Al Gore.
Then he saw the importance, and he was a pioneer of regional policy. So the fact we have devolution and mayors owes a great deal to what John was thinking right throughout the 1980s and 90s when I was working with him.
And then we mustn’t forget that one of the great achievements of John as environment secretary was the repair and improvement of housing, 1.5m houses which would not have been repaired without John’s determination that the social housing stock had to be remodernised.
So you’ve got to look at the practical achievements of someone who possibly surprised himself by the way that he managed to become deputy prime minister, but actually made a huge difference.
Key events
We will carry on reporting tributes to John Prescott as the day goes on, but there is other news happening today too and soon I will switch to the Covid inquiry, where Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, is giving evidence from 10am. He has already given evidence to the inquiry before, but the inquiry is now on module 3, focusing in particular on the impact of the pandemic on the NHS, and Hancock will be talking about that.
We have also got John Healey, the defence secretary, giving evidence to the Commons defence committee from 10.30am this morning.
Peter Mandelson says Prescott was ‘the cement that kept New Labour together’
Peter Mandelson was one of many people in the Labour party who feuded with John Prescott at various times when they were in government, and at one memorable photocall in the summer of 1997 Prescott compared him to a crab. Today, speaking on Sky News, Mandelson played down the extend of their disagreements, and pointed out that Prescott had supported his application to become Labour’s communications director in 1985 – the job that turned out to be the launchpad for Mandelson’s career.
Mandelson said it was wrong to say Prescott was not New Labour.
Some people say sometimes that he wasn’t New Labour. But that’s not true. He was New Labour. He was one very essential part of New Labour. He basically kept us anchored in our working class roots, our trade union history. And he was the bridge, essentially, between that and the modernisers in the Labour party, Tony, Gordon, me and the others. And he always wanted that project to work. It’s not as if he was standing outside it and peering in. He was on the inside and making it work. He was, in many respects, the cement that kept New Labour together.
Asked what he was like to work with, Mandelson replied:
He was absolutely impossible. When I say he was sort of courageous, he was. When I say he was loyal, he was. When I say he was determined, he was. He was always determined to get his own way on any particular issue at any given moment. Right up until the point he’d say, ‘OK, I’ll do this for you. You do this for me. As long as you cover this off I’ll happily go along with it.’
So he was a negotiator. He was a trade union negotiator. He was a broker. But at the end of the day he wanted it to work and the way in which he made it work was by being incredibly difficult for days on end and then finally sealing it, making work, agreeing it and off we went.
Mandelson also recalled a surprise conversation earlier this year he had with Prescott.
I was at home on a Sunday morning and the phone went and then suddenly I put it on and it was the face of John Prescott on my phone FaceTiming me from Hull. I mean, no advanced warning. No how do you do. It was, ‘Hello, is that you?’ ‘Yes John it is me. What do you want?’
He said ‘I just want to say that I know it was difficult and we were bloody awful to you at times and I was, but actually you did good and I want to forgive you.’ What am I being forgiven for here? It was just, ‘I want to forgive you because you did good. And I know it wasn’t easy at times and I know it was rough and I know I didn’t help but now I understand.’ And I said, ‘John that’s very kind of you. How do you suddenly understand this?’ He said, ‘Oh well somebody gave me this book of yours. I didn’t read it before. It looked very boring. But I’ve looked at it, I’ve dipped into it and I’ve seen what you went through … I feel rather sorry for you actually. And anyway, thanks very much.’
It was a few minutes more … but that was it. That was the last time I spoke to him.
Here are more tributes to John Prescott from Labour figures on social media.
From Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s communications director in No 10
JP RIP … there was nobody else like him. Tony could not have had a better deputy. Labour could not have had a better campaigner. The government could not have had a better negotiator and – yes, often, peacemaker. Hull could not have had a better MP. Of course he was combative but he had an enormous heart and a great capacity for friendship. Even with his horrible illness in later years, the old JP was always there. Love to Pauline, Jonathan and David and nothing but fond memories of a total one off who will be missed by so many.
From Yvette Cooper, the home secretary
Such sad news about John Prescott. A campaigning Labour hero & a remarkable minister who transformed lives – upgrading millions of council homes, coalfield regeneration, tackling climate change. Fierce & warm hearted – there was no one like him. Thinking of Pauline & family today
From Ed Balls, the former adviser to Gordon Brown and later secretary of state for children
From Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader
I am really sad to hear that John Prescott has passed away.
John was a huge figure and personality, from his seafaring union days to the highest offices in Government.
I will be forever grateful for his personal and political support in the 2017 and 2019 elections. His endless warmth and iconic wit were loved on the campaign trail.
My deepest sympathies to John’s family at their loss. He will be greatly missed.
From Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary
1/2 John Prescott was a political giant who made a unique contribution to the Labour and trade union movement he loved so deeply. Authentic, funny, tough, highly skilled and, at times, unpredictable, he often used the phrase “traditional Labour values in a modern setting”.
2/2 In doing so, he would reassure and inspire Party members with whom he had a great bond. He will be much missed. All our thoughts are with Pauline and his family on this very sad day.
From David Lammy, foreign secretary
John Prescott was one of the giants of our party. Committed, loyal, Labour to his core. A relentless champion of working people who never forgot who he came into politics to fight for. Full of good humour and blunt common sense. Rest in peace
Angela Rayner pays tribute to Prescott, saying he was ‘inspiration to me’
Angela Rayner is often compared to John Prescott. They were both brought up working class, became Labour MPs after working in the trade union movement and have been frequently patronised or demonised by Tories and the media, partly on the grounds of class snobbery. And both ended up deputy PM.
Here is her tribute to Prescott.
Through his half a century of public service and a decade as deputy prime minister, John Prescott was driven by his Labour values to serve working people.
Fiercely proud of his working class and trade union roots, he never lost sight of who he came into politics to serve. He used the chance he was given to change the lives of millions of working people.
A giant of the labour movement and loyal friend, he will be remembered with huge fondness by all those who knew him.
John was not only a Labour legend but an inspiration to me, and always so generous with his time and support.
We will miss him greatly. Our thoughts and prayers are with Pauline, David, Johnathan and the rest of the family.
Prescott’s family ask people not to send flowers but to donate to Alzheimer’s Research UK instead
Here is the full statement from John Prescott’s family announcing his death. Prescott was living with Alzheimer’s in his final years and his family have asked wellwishers minded to send flowers to donate to Alzheimer’s Research UK instead.
They say:
We are deeply saddened to inform you that our beloved husband, father and grandfather, John Prescott, passed away peacefully yesterday at the age of 86.
He did so surrounded by the love of his family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery.
John spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment, doing so from his time as a waiter on the cruise liners to becoming Britain’s longest serving deputy prime minister.
John dearly loved his home of Hull and representing its people in parliament for 40 years was his greatest honour. We would like to thank the amazing NHS doctors and nurses who cared for him after his stroke in 2019 and the dedicated staff at the care home where he passed away after latterly living with Alzheimer’s.
In lieu of flowers and if you wish to do so, you can donate to Alzheimer’s Research UK.
As you can imagine, our family needs to process our grief so we respectfully request time and space to mourn in private. Thank you.
Here is a John Prescott picture gallery.
Gordon Brown pays tribute to Prescott
Andrew Sparrow
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Caroline Davies.
The former prime minister Gordon Brown has just been on the Today programme paying tribute to John Prescott. He said:
John was a friend of mine, he was a colleague, but when you think of him, he was a colossus, he was a titan of the Labour movement.
John Lennon talked about working class hero. It’s difficult to fit that term, but I think John would like that.
You’ve got to look at his achievements. He was probably the first government minister to see the importance of the environment. Kyoto, that environmental treaty in 1997, you’ve got to attribute that to John’s hard work with Al Gore.
Then he saw the importance, and he was a pioneer of regional policy. So the fact we have devolution and mayors owes a great deal to what John was thinking right throughout the 1980s and 90s when I was working with him.
And then we mustn’t forget that one of the great achievements of John as environment secretary was the repair and improvement of housing, 1.5m houses which would not have been repaired without John’s determination that the social housing stock had to be remodernised.
So you’ve got to look at the practical achievements of someone who possibly surprised himself by the way that he managed to become deputy prime minister, but actually made a huge difference.
Yorkshire has “lost one of its great political heavyweights,” said Tracy Brabin, mayor for West Yorkshire. In a post on X she said:
Deeply sad news to hear of John Prescott’s passing. Yorkshire has lost one of its great political heavyweights. A true Northerner with unwavering authenticity. John’s record speaks for itself: tackling regional inequalities, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment.
We must all now build on his legacy and work tirelessly, as he did, to create a country that works for all.
Lord Prescott’s wife and two sons said he had been in a care home recently living with Alzheimer’s. Hilary Evans-Newton, chief executive at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
It’s heartbreaking to hear that former deputy prime minister, Lord John Prescott, one of the most prominent political figures of our generation, has died with Alzheimer’s. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.
It’s tragic how many lives are being lost to dementia, the leading cause of death in the UK.
We’re incredibly moved by Lord Prescott’s family, who have asked for donations to Alzheimer’s Research UK, in lieu of flowers.
As the UK’s leading dementia research charity, we’re accelerating progress towards a cure, so no one’s life has to end this way.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said Lord Prescott was a “true giant” of the Labour movement. Khan wrote on X:
Sad to hear the news about John Prescott. A lovely man, proud trade unionist, brilliant campaigner and someone who committed his whole life to helping others. The last Labour Government simply couldn’t have achieved all it did without him. A true giant of the Labour movement.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said:
I am deeply saddened by the news of John Prescott passing away and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family. John Prescott will be remembered as a towering figure in British politics and his unwavering tenacity on the causes he championed should be a lesson to us all. His influence on our modern society will still be felt for years to come and his legacy remembered far into the future.
Recalling the moment John Prescott punched a protester who threw an egg at him in 2001, Tony Blair told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he answered “well, John is John” at a subsequent press conference.
Someone smashed an egg on his head, and he turned up, and he turned around, and he punched the guy and laid him out.
This caused a huge sort of fracas, obviously… We had to give a press conference in the election campaign the next day, and some people were saying, well, look, he’s deputy prime minister – you know, you can’t have a deputy prime minister thumping a voter.
And then there were other people who said, yeah, but you know… he had this egg slammed in his head, and he turned around and whacked the guy, and a lot of people think, well, fair enough.
A long debate ensued, Blair said, adding: “Finally, at the press conference, when I was asked about that, I just said, well, John, is John. And so was that supposed to be an answer? I said, Yeah, that’s an answer, that’s as much as you can say.”
Ed Miliband, the energy secretary and former Labour leader said Lord Prescott was a “titan of the Labour movement”.
Miliband wrote on X:
I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of John Prescott. He was a titan of the Labour movement, a unique and irreplaceable fighter for justice.
He fought for social and economic equality all his life, championed the cause of the environment and showed how politics could change lives for the better.
John represented the best of Labour values and I will always be grateful for the support he provided to me as Labour leader. I extend my deepest condolences to Pauline, Jonathan and David.
Former Conservative Party leader Lord Hague said Lord Prescott was a “formidable debater”.
Posting on X, Hague said:
John Prescott was one of the great figures of our political era—passionate, loyal, and full of life. I will never forget our many lively exchanges across the despatch box. John was a formidable debater, unflinching in his commitment to his values, and he had a unique ability to speak directly to the concerns of the people he represented. It was a point of pride for both of us that we hailed from Rotherham; although it shaped us in different ways, we shared a certain bluntness in our exchanges—though in true Yorkshire fashion, John usually got straight to the point faster than I did! John’s legacy as a voice for working people and a relentless advocate for Labour will endure. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this very sad time.
Sir Tony Blair’s tribute continued:
I relied on him many times: when in difficulty, under attack; and less well known when I needed someone whose gut instinct I trusted better than my own.
To say we were partners would never capture the nature of our relationship. There was nothing formal about it. We met and talked regularly. Rules of protocol were cast aside. Debates were had which could be fierce. But once concluded, the common line was kept.
The truth is for all the difficulties and the differences and the jokes about us both and our ‘odd couple relationship’, we had developed a genuine admiration, respect and affection for each other.
Underneath what could be a fierce exterior, and a manner some undoubtedly found intimidating, beat a loving, kind and compassionate human heart. John was as good a friend as you could ever hope to have, with a deep sensitivity, even vulnerability.
He will deservedly occupy a special place in the pantheon of the Labour leadership; he will be mourned by his many friends and fans around the world and for me personally, today is a day of profound sadness but also immense pride in having known him and worked with him: a great man and great servant of country and party.
Tony Blair ‘devastated’ by death of Prescott
Labour former prime minister Sir Tony Blair said he was “devastated” by the death of Lord Prescott, and described his deputy as “one of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics”.
Blair said:
Although we all knew that the end was approaching and was inevitable, I am devastated by John’s passing. He was one of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics; one of the most committed and loyal; and definitely the most unusual.
There was nothing about John which fitted conventional wisdom. He was from proud traditional working class stock yet understood instinctively and completely the aspirations of that class and their desire to better themselves.
He was liberal and tolerant, yet instantly intolerant of any overly liberal middle class dismissal of the misery suffered by poor inner city communities from crime and drug abuse. He could talk in the bluntest and sometimes bluest language, but it concealed a first rate intellect which meant he thought as deeply about issues as much as he cared about them.
It is no exaggeration to say the Labour Party could never have won three consecutive full terms without John. He was a commanding presence. He represented the wing of the party which was not New Labour, but he did it in a way which never reduced the effectiveness of our appeal and indeed extended it, broadening the base of our support.
He had extraordinary accomplishments: he revived many of Britain’s inner cities, was responsible for the refurbishment of thousands of council homes, the revival of British shipping, completed the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, established the Coalfield Communities Trust to breathe life back into villages and towns affected by the closure of mines; and was Britain’s lead negotiator for the Kyoto climate treaty, the world’s first attempt to agree a global response to climate change.
Martin Belam
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason described John Prescott as a piece of “blunt grit” among the “slick middle class polish of New Labour.”
He told listeners Prescott was “proudly working class, proud of his trade union background, and proud to bind his party’s past with its present.”
Mason quoted former prime minister Tony Blair in his memoirs, recalling of Prescott that “he could be maddening, he could be dangerous, he could be absurd, he could be magnificent, [but] never dull, placid, uneventful, forgettable.”
Jon Trickett, the MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, wrote on X a short while ago:
John Prescott was a Labour giant. I knew him well. V sad to hear of his passing. Mining communities owe him a debt for settling the enormous claim for industrial injuries. In my constit over 10000 families received compensation which amounted to £100m plus Thank you my mate.
Here is Keir Starmer’s tribute on X in full: He wrote:
“I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of John Prescott.
John was a true giant of the Labour movement. He was a staunch defender of working people and a proud trade unionist. During a decade as deputhy Prime Minister, he was one of the key architects of a Labour Government that transformed the lives of millions of people across the nation.
So much of John’s work set the path for those of us fortunate enough to follow. From leading climate negotiations to fighting regional inequality, his legacy will live on well beyond his lifetime.
Across the Labour Party and the union movement he will be remembered for his conviction, courage and strength of character. His passion , force of personality and pride in his working-class roots was key to his authenticity – an honesty that was recognised and respected across the political divide and across the nation.
On behalf of the Labour Party, I send my condolences to Pauline and all his family, to the city of Hull which he served as MP for forty years, and to all those who knew and loved him. May he rest in peace.