After his death at the age of 86, former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is hailed as a working-class hero

LONDON – British politician John Prescott, a feisty and handsome former merchant seaman who rose to become deputy prime minister in Tony Blair’s Labor government, has died at the age of 86.

On Thursday, Prescott’s family announced his death. They said the politician, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, died on Wednesday in a nursing home “surrounded by the love of his family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery.”

The family said Prescott “spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment.”

For a decade, Prescott brought spirit, humor and working-class authenticity to the government of the young, dapper Blair, who became prime minister in 1997.

“He was one of the most talented people I have ever met in politics, one of the most committed and loyal, and certainly the most extraordinary,” Blair said.

Prescott, who was an amateur boxer in his youth, had a defining moment when he punched a man who threw an egg at him during the 2001 general election.

For a while, it looked like the uproar might damage the Labor Party and Prescott’s career. But Blair’s response – “John is John” – cemented his folk status.

Born in north Wales in 1938, Prescott left school at 15 and worked as a steward on a cruise ship before entering politics through the trade union movement – a once popular route that became less common after Blair renamed the left-wing party “New Labor” and moved its policy towards the center,

Prescott was a proud working-class figure in a country where there are still few working-class people at the top of politics. He had no qualms about enjoying the finer things in life and the press nicknamed him “Two Jags” because he owned two luxurious Jaguar cars.

The incident of punching the egg thrower earned him another nickname: “Two Stabs.”

Prescott was Blair’s deputy from 1997 to 2007. One of his greatest achievements was working with then US Vice President Al Gore on the landmark climate change agreement under the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.

Gore said he “never worked with anyone in politics – on my side of the pond or his – like John Prescott.”

“He fought like hell to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol and was a steadfast advocate for climate action for decades to come. I am forever grateful to John for his commitment to solving the climate crisis and will miss him as a dear friend,” Gore said in a statement.

Prescott helped ease the sometimes tense relationship between Blair and his treasury chief, Gordon Brown, and acted as a bridge between the party’s traditionalists and Blair’s modernizing faction. Brown said he played a key role in holding the party together after Blair’s controversial decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Former cabinet minister Peter Mandelson, a Blair ally, said Prescott was the “cement that holds New Labor together”.

Prescott represented his hometown of Hull in northern England for four decades. After the Labor Party lost power in 2010, he became a member of the unelected upper house of parliament, the House of Lords.

Brown, who replaced Blair as prime minister, described Prescott as a true working-class hero.

“He wanted the good things in life for everyone, not just himself,” Brown said. “And it showed that Britain can be a country where if you work hard you can fulfill your potential.”

He left behind his wife Paulina and sons Johnathan and David.