John Prescott – the glue that held New Labour together in more ways than one
Although it is a cliche to call someone a giant of their profession, it is an apt description of Lord John Prescott, who has died at the age of 86. He was a giant of the Labour movement who played a vital role in supporting Tony Blair in leading the party into government after 18 years in opposition. As Blair has said in his own tribute, “it is no exaggeration to say the Labour Party could never have won three consecutive full terms without John”.
Prescott was an MP for 40 years and subsequently a member of the House of Lords for a further 14. Despite suggesting that he had no desire for one, he accepted a peerage in 2010 in order to continue contributing on environmental policy and to use the red benches as a platform for campaigning.
He remained an active peer even after suffering a stroke in 2019. Although he spoke in debates less after this time, he continued to vote in divisions until February last year. His departure from the House of Lords in July 2024 brought to an end a 54-year career in parliament.
Prescott came from a working-class family and was a champion for the working classes within the Labour movement, especially after the party modernised in the 1990s. Peter Mandelson described him as the glue that held New Labour together and ensured the modernised party remained connected to its working-class roots.
His grandfather was a coal miner and his father worked on the railways. Prescott left school at 15 and, before his career in politics, he worked as a ship’s steward on passenger liners. During this time, he became an active and popular member of the National Union of Seamen.
He later attended Ruskin College in Oxford, which specialised in courses for union officials, and gained a diploma in economics and politics. He went on to study economics and economic history at the University of Hull. He remained in Hull for the rest of his life and it was a city that he loved dearly.
Champion of climate and devolution
In 1970, Prescott was elected as MP for Kingston upon Hull East, winning successive elections before stepping down in 2010. He was elected to the position of deputy leader of the Labour party in 1994 and is the party’s longest-serving deputy leader as well as the UK’s longest-serving deputy prime minister.
His centrality to the New Labour project was apparent as soon as he was appointed by Blair to lead a “super” department with responsibilities for the environment, transport and the regions.
Prescott may well be remembered for punching a member of the public who threw an egg at him in 2001 and for confessing to an affair with his diary secretary, but this is to overlook his role in some highly substantive policy decisions.
He helped to broker the Kyoto Protocol, which set legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, former US vice-president Al Gore paid tribute to him as an “unwavering champion of climate action”.
Prescott was also a major proponent of devolution. He oversaw the creation of the directly elected mayor of London, although he was unsuccessful in his attempts to devolve power to regional assemblies in England. Nonetheless, the debates and discussions we have to this day about devolving power away from Westminster are cemented in the foundations he built in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Later in the New Labour years, Prescott was called upon to mediate between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as their relationship began to sour – truly becoming the glue that held New Labour together.
Above everything else, Prescott was a Labour loyalist. Despite distancing himself from Blair over the Iraq war, he continued to defend New Labour’s and Tony Blair’s legacy. He was also supportive of the party leaders who followed Blair and he advised Ed Miliband in the run up to the 2015 election.
Although not without periods of controversy, John is remembered for his no-nonsense approach and as a fierce debater and campaigner.
Thomas Caygill is currently receiving funding from the British Academy (SRG2324\241256)