According to his family on Thursday, John Prescott, the feisty deputy prime minister to British Prime Minister Tony Blair during his ten years in office, passed away at the age of 86 following a fight with Alzheimer’s.
Prescott, who worked under Blair from 1997 to 2007, was seen as a straightforward politician who helped to heal the rift between the Labour Party’s modernizers and traditional left-wing.
Blair told BBC radio that no one in British politics was exactly like him. To be really honest, I don’t believe I’ve ever met anyone like John, and I still don’t think I have, and I’m extremely sorry he’s gone.
Known as a staunch trade unionist and an old-school political bruiser, he is well-known for punching a voter during an election campaign in 2001 after the voter had been hit with an egg.
This morning, I was just thinking about the moment he spun around and punched the person who had cracked an egg on his head, laying him out. Blair claimed that he didn’t actually follow any rules.
On May 31, 1938, Prescott was born in a Welsh coastal home. His mother worked as a maid, and his father was a railroad signalman.
At the age of 17, he set sail as a steward on a high-end cruise liner where the staff conducted boxing matches to amuse the guests.
After arriving on shore, he entered politics and enrolled in Oxford’s Ruskin College, which provided courses for older students.
After rising through the ranks after entering parliament in 1970, Prescott was instrumental in the Labour Party’s unprecedented three election triumphs between 1997 and 2007.
He served as a mediator in the frequently tense relationship between Blair and Gordon Brown, his eventual successor. He was later dubbed “Two Jags” for using his ministerial vehicle for a 200-yard drive, which he claimed was necessary to keep his wife’s hair from blowing in the wind.
Kyoto Protocol
When he admitted to having a protracted extramarital affair with his younger diary secretary in April 2006, his reputation took a hit, and the media made fun of him for his poor oratory abilities.
Blair, however, praised Prescott as one of the most gifted individuals he had ever met in the political world and claimed that he had played a crucial role in maintaining the unity of the entire operation during Labour’s ten years in office.
According to Brown, John Prescott became and will continue to be a Labour Party icon because he was self-educated, fervent in his convictions, brave in the causes he championed, and kind despite his seemingly unwavering harsh exterior. He believed in the goodness of everyone.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore was one of the leaders who paid respect to Prescott, praising his efforts in drafting the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. In 2018, Prescott told the Guardian that he thought it was his best accomplishment.
According to Gore, he has never collaborated with a politician on his side of the Atlantic or mine like John Prescott.
Prescott is survived by his two sons and Pauline, his wife of sixty-three years. According to his family, he passed away surrounded by Marian Montgomery’s jazz music and their affection.
From his days as a cruise ship waiter to his position as Britain’s longest-serving deputy prime minister, John dedicated his life to enhancing the lives of people, advocating for social justice, and safeguarding the environment, according to the statement.
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