Blair leads tributes to Labour giant John Prescott

Tributes have been paid to Lord John Prescott, a major figure in Labour politics and the former deputy prime minister, following his death at the age of 86.

Known for his blunt, no-nonsense style, Lord Prescott was Sir Tony Blair's loyal deputy for 10 years after Labour's 1997 general election landslide.

Sir Tony said he was "devastated" by the death of his friend, telling the BBC there was "no one quite like him in British politics".

His successor Gordon Brown called Lord Prescott a "working class hero", while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed a "true giant" of the Labour movement.

In a statement announcing his death, Lord Prescott’s wife and two sons said he had been in a care home recently living with Alzheimer’s.

They said he died "surrounded by the love of his family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery".

Sir Tony said the pair would talk via videocall in recent times, and Lord Prescott was "still as lively and punchy as ever".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the former prime minister said Lord Prescott reached parts of the electorate that he could not, and was "loyal, committed and an enormous help" as his deputy.

However, he said their relationship was not just political and they developed a "genuine admiration, respect and affection for each other".

Brown described him as a "colossus" and "a titan of the Labour movement".

Lord Prescott played an invaluable role as peacemaker between Brown and Sir Tony, often being described as their "marriage counsellor".

Paying tribute in the House of Commons, Sir Keir said Lord Prescott was "a man who fought for working-class ambition because he lived it", adding: "He truly was a one off."

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner - who shares a working class and trade union background with Lord Prescott - said he was "not only a Labour legend but an inspiration to me".

She said he had been "a huge support", offering the advice to "be authentically yourself and keep thinking about the people you’re there to represent".

Lord Mandelson, a key architect of New Labour, hailed him as an "all time great" of the party.

The former cabinet minister, who at times clashed with Lord Prescott in government, said he was "the anchor of New Labour" and "the glue that kept us together".

He told the BBC Lord Prescott was a "fighter for working people" and wanted them "to have all the opportunities that he’d had", which made him "an essential part of New Labour".

Born in Prestatyn, Wales, Lord Prescott left school at 15 and worked as a steward in the Merchant Navy. He then studied at Ruskin College in Oxford, before entering politics.

In a career that stretched back over half a century, Lord Prescott was first elected as MP for Hull East in 1970 and went on to hold the seat for almost 40 years.

He joined the shadow cabinet in 1983 as the party's transport spokesman and would later become Sir Tony's deputy.

When Labour won power in 1997, he became deputy prime minister, as well as leading a department with responsibilities spanning the environment, transport and the regions.

It was in that role that he helped negotiate the landmark Kyoto climate change treaty.

Despite pushing for a switch from cars to public transport, he was nicknamed "two jags" by the press after it emerged he had two Jaguar cars. But in 2021, he revealed he no longer had a motor vehicle, saying "I am now Zero Jags".

He also famously punched a man who threw an egg at him while on the general election campaign trail in Rhyl, north Wales in 2001.

After pictures of the incident appeared in press around the world, a new nickname of "two jabs" was coined for him by journalists.

Lord Prescott said he had acted in self-defence and police refused to take any further action. Subsequent newspaper polls suggested most people supported his reaction.

Commenting at the time, Sir Tony said: "John is John".

Speaking of the incident as he paid tribute on Today, Sir Tony said "that's what he was like".

"There were no rules that he really abided by."

Though a loyal supporter of Sir Tony during his time in office, Lord Prescott was later critical of Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war, telling the BBC that the 2003 invasion of the country "cannot be justified".

He retired from the Commons in 2010 and to the surprise of many of his supporters accepted a peerage, despite reportedly having once said: "I don't want to be a member of the House of Lords. I will not accept it."

He defended the decision because it would give him continued influence over environmental policy.

He ceased to be a member of the House of Lords in July of this year due to non-attendance, having only spoken once in the chamber since suffering a stroke in 2019.

"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," his family said.

"John dearly loved his home of Hull and representing its people in Parliament for 40 years was his greatest honour."

Lord Prescott married his wife, Pauline, in 1961 and they had two children together - David and Jonathan.