John Prescott, Britain's former deputy prime minister who served under Tony Blair and helped transform the country's Labor Party, has died at the age of 86, his family said on Thursday.
“We are very sad to tell you that our beloved husband, father and grandfather, John Prescott, passed away yesterday (Wednesday) at the age of 86,” it said in a statement.
Blair, a privately educated lawyer who had hired the working-class Prescott to help appease the Labor Party after moving the party to the center ground, said he was “devastated” at Prescott's death. They went.
“There was no one like him in British politics,” he told BBC radio.
As well as being a prominent figure on the domestic stage, Prescott led negotiations for Britain for the 1997 international Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
Former US Vice President and prominent environmentalist Al Gore paid tribute to a “dear friend” and said he would be “forever grateful for his commitment to solving the climate crisis”.
“He fought hard to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol and was an unwavering champion of climate action for decades to come,” he said in a statement.
He added, “He had an inherent ability to connect with people on the issues that mattered to them – a talent that other people spend years studying and developing, but that is second nature to him.”
Gordon Brown, who succeeded Blair as Prime Minister, called Prescott a “colossus” and a “titan of the Labor movement”.
He said he was “probably the first government minister to understand the importance of the environment”, adding that credit for the 1997 Kyoto Accord should be given to “John's hard work with Al Gore”.
Keir Starmer, who became Labour's first prime minister since 2010 after a landslide victory in the general election in July, called Prescott “a true stalwart of the Labor movement”.
'Proud trade unionist'
“He was a staunch defender of working people and a proud trade unionist. During a decade as Deputy Prime Minister, he was one of the key architects of a Labor government that transformed the lives of millions of people across the country,” he said.
“Much of John's work paved the way for those of us who were fortunate enough to follow. From leading climate negotiations to fighting regional inequality, his legacy will live on beyond his lifetime.”
Prescott, a former merchant seaman and trade union activist who served as Member of Parliament for Hull in northern England for four decades, died “peacefully” in a care home, his wife Pauline and two sons said.
“He did this amid the love of his family and the jazz music of Marion Montgomery,” he said.
Prescott, appointed to the House of Lords, suffered a stroke in 2019 and was suffering from Alzheimer's. Due to his health problems, he ceased to be a member of the upper house of parliament in July.
To be precise, Prescott served as Blair's deputy for 10 years following Labour's landslide victory in the 1997 general election. During a campaign in North Wales he punched a protestor who threw an egg at him.
But he also acted as a mediator between Blair and his finance minister, Gordon Brown, who had also led Labour's transition in the 1990s and who had plans to take power.
Prescott's brief included the environment and transportation.
Blair said in a letter to Prescott in 2007 that he saw his role as “calming down colleagues and helping colleagues sort out and problem-solve”.
“Prescott's completely unique blend of charm and cruelty… took you through the decade, kept the government together and, above all, gave me a lot of fun. I was lucky to have you as my deputy,” he told her.
AFP
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