Former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott dies at the age of 86

Tony Blair pays tribute to an “extremely direct” deputy who was known for pulling no punches – at one point literally.

His family announced that former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had died after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Prescott, a former merchant seaman who became a key figure in Tony Blair’s New Labor government, died “peacefully” in a nursing home at the age of 86, his family said on Thursday.

Blair, prime minister from 1997 to 2007, paid tribute to his former deputy, calling him an “extraordinarily direct communicator” and adding that “there is no one like him in British politics.”

In a speech on the BBC’s Today programme, Blair said that Prescott, known for his gruff, no-nonsense style of politics, had “fantastic instincts” and had “tremendous, genuine affection” for him.

Prescott, a prominent trade unionist proud of his working-class roots, was seen by many as a bridge between Labor traditionalists and Blair’s revitalized New Labor Party, which promoted a “third way” between center-left social policy and center-right capitalism.

Prescott, often ridiculed by the media for mispronouncing words or making grammatical errors – a trait that many felt belied his fierce intellect – earned the nickname “Two Jags” for owning two luxury Jaguar cars: one personal and one for ministerial duties.

Criticized for traveling 180 meters (200 yards) back to the hotel in a ministerial car during the 1999 Labor conference, he claimed – with typical directness – that this was to prevent his wife Pauline’s hair from blowing in the wind.

While campaigning for the 2001 general election, he punched a man who threw an egg at him. The incident made headlines around the world and prompted journalists to change his nickname to “the two stabs.”

When asked about the assault the next day at a press conference, Blair replied: “John is John.”

John Prescott and Jeremy Corbyn — John Prescott (left), known as a Labor traditionalist with strong roots in the trade union movement, greets former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn at a general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, England, in 2017 (file: Oli Scarff /AFP)

Blair told the Today program that while some criticized Prescott’s behavior, “there were other people who said, ‘yeah, but he got hit in the head with an egg and he turned around and hit the guy,’ and a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, well, that’s fair enough.’ .

Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Prescott as a “staunch defender of working people” who was remembered for his “conviction, courage and strength of character”.

“Much of John’s work paved the way for those of us lucky enough to follow it. From leading climate negotiations to tackling regional inequality, his legacy will last well beyond his lifetime,” Starmer said.

Prescott was born on May 31, 1938, in the coastal town of Prestatyn, Wales, from humble beginnings as the son of a railway signalman and a trade union servant.

As a mature student, he studied politics at Ruskin College, Oxford, and later served as deputy prime minister throughout Blair’s decade in office.

Although he left Wales at the age of four, he always considered himself Welsh.