John Prescott: Political bruiser who played vital role in Labour comeback

John Prescott was an old-style governmental bruiser who played a captious relation successful the New Labour project.

He scorned what helium called "the beauteous people" - the men successful astute suits with reddish roses and mobile phones who became the caller look of Labour.

Yet helium was an important fig successful the run to merchantability modernisation to the enactment and pave the mode for Labour to regain powerfulness aft 18 years successful absorption with Tony Blair's historical landslide triumph successful 1997.

Towards the extremity of his governmental career, a bid of embarrassments - including an matter and allegations of ministerial impropriety - threatened to tarnish his salt-of-the-earth image.

But arsenic lawman premier curate for 10 years and portion of the squad that won 3 successive predetermination victories, his presumption successful Labour past is secure.

John Leslie Prescott was calved successful Prestatyn, Flintshire, connected 31 May 1938. His begetter was a railway signalman and his parent came from a mining family.

Although his household near Wales erstwhile helium was four, helium remained arrogant of his practice and ever considered himself Welsh.

He became a trainee cook connected leaving schoolhouse astatine 15 and past worked for 8 years arsenic a ship's steward connected rider liners, becoming progressive successful the National Union of Seamen.

In 1962, helium went to Ruskin College, Oxford, wherever helium got a diploma successful economics and politics, and aboriginal to Hull University to survey for an economics degree.

Active successful the merchant sailors' onslaught of 1966, helium served arsenic an authoritative with the National Union of Seamen for 2 years earlier his election, successful 1970, arsenic MP for Hull East, sponsored by the union.

John Prescott became a Labour frontbench spokesperson successful May 1979 and joined the shadiness furniture successful 1983, gaining a estimation arsenic a pugnacious and knowledgeable spokesperson connected transport.

The aforesaid twelvemonth his showman's instincts saw him aquatics 2 miles down the River Thames to item absorption to Margaret Thatcher's authorities argumentation of dumping atomic discarded astatine sea.

But it was the Labour person John Smith who yet gave John Prescott governmental country to breathe, with a cardinal relation successful selling modernisation to the enactment and unions.

It was John Smith who kick-started Labour's dilatory instrumentality to power, overturning galore of the party's astir cherished principles successful a thrust to marque it electable again.

And John Prescott, with his beardown national links and no-nonsense approach, offered captious support, not slightest successful the abolition of the national artifact ballot that had been Labour argumentation for years.

When Tony Blair became leader, pursuing John Smith's untimely decease successful 1994, helium excessively recognised the value of keeping John Prescott connected board.

The Hull East MP became lawman person and aboriginal lawman premier curate with wide departmental work implicit transport and the environment.

He pledged to make an integrated transport strategy and said his occurrence would beryllium measured by a simplification successful radical needing to usage a car.

This caused him sizeable embarrassment when, astatine the 1999 Labour conference, helium utilized his ministerial car - a Jaguar - for a 200-yard travel backmost to his hotel.

In emblematic Prescott style, helium claimed it was truthful his woman Pauline's hairsbreadth would not get blown about.

But the politician, who besides owned a Jaguar himself, was soon dubbed "two Jags" successful the press.

He erstwhile described himself arsenic the defender connected the Labour bid - acceptable to dilatory it down if it moved disconnected the rails. Yet his coagulated working-class credentials added almighty enactment to Tony Blair and the Labour modernisers.

He campaigned passionately against the Conservative argumentation of privatising Britain's railways and was reported to person been furious erstwhile Labour failed to follow a argumentation of renationalisation erstwhile returned to power.

His argumentation of creating elected determination assemblies to oversee the caller determination improvement agencies besides deed the buffers, when, successful a referendum successful a aviator country successful England's North East, 78% of radical rejected the idea.

He besides faced absorption implicit his alleged Pathfinder project, designed to supply thousands of caller homes.

As portion of the policy, astir 200,000 homes successful the North of England were demolished, which, critics said, could person been renovated astatine overmuch little cost.

His passionateness and burly benignant of transportation were changeless features.

He repeatedly described New Labour's ngo arsenic delivering "traditional values successful a modern setting" - a almighty if somewhat intangible concept.

Mocked by immoderate for mangling his syntax, helium often inactive managed to inject humour into hard situations - specified arsenic erstwhile helium was criticised for accusing a pistillate French curate of being excessively bushed to recognize the intricacies of an situation summit.

"As to whether I americium accused of being a macho antheral - moi?" helium told the Commons. "I indispensable accidental the remark leaves maine astir gutted."

He deed the headlines during the 2001 wide predetermination aft helium was filmed throwing a punch astatine a subordinate of the nationalist who had thrown an ovum astatine him during a protestation successful Rhyl, Flintshire.

John Prescott said helium had acted successful self-defence and constabulary refused to instrumentality immoderate further action. Subsequent paper polls suggested astir radical supported his reaction.

In aboriginal days, John Prescott reportedly had to enactment arsenic a peacemaker betwixt Tony Blair and the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, arsenic speculation astir the succession to the enactment ebbed and flowed.

His ain remark successful a newspaper, that the "tectonic plates" successful the Labour Party were moving, gave emergence to suggestions of manoeuvring wrong the cabinet.

And erstwhile helium was seen sharing a car with Gordon Brown and stopping disconnected astatine a Scottish oyster bar, the rumours that Tony Blair was astir to basal down intensified.

However, arsenic his vocation arsenic an MP neared its end, the headlines surrounding John Prescott concentrated connected his backstage life.

In 2006, helium admitted to an matter with his erstwhile caput Tracey Temple, which led to a raft of lurid stories.

In a furniture reshuffle soon aft the revelations emerged, John Prescott was stripped of his department, though kept connected arsenic lawman premier curate and allowed to clasp his wage and grace-and-favour homes.

But, successful a further embarrassment, helium felt compelled to springiness up his state pile, Dorneywood, aft being pictured connected its lawns playing croquet with his unit - an representation astatine likelihood with his down-to-earth reputation.

It was aboriginal revealed helium had visited the US ranch of businessman Philip Anschutz - whose institution took implicit the moving of the Millennium Dome and who was bidding to physique Britain's archetypal super-casino.

Critics said determination was a struggle of interest. John Prescott, who met Mr Anschutz 7 times, failed to state the sojourn for 11 months. He yet said helium had gone due to the fact that helium liked cowboy films.

The Commons Standards and Privileges Committee ruled the ministerial codification had been breached due to the fact that the travel had not been declared immediately.

Shortly aft Tony Blair said helium would beryllium stepping down arsenic premier minister, John Prescott announced helium would relinquish his relation arsenic deputy.

He ended his clip successful authorities with nary ministerial little of his ain and was seen by galore arsenic a peripheral figure.

To the astonishment of galore of his supporters, helium accepted a peerage successful 2010 contempt reportedly having erstwhile said: "I don't privation to beryllium a subordinate of the House of Lords. I volition not judge it."

He defended the determination due to the fact that it would springiness him continued power implicit biology argumentation and helium refused to dainty the reddish benches arsenic an upmarket status home, utilizing them arsenic a level to transportation connected campaigning.

He continued to service successful the Lords until July of this year, erstwhile helium was removed for non-attendance - bringing down the curtain connected a parliamentary vocation of much than 50 years.

His astir robust interventions successful Lords debates progressive attacking the government's effect to the phone-hacking scandal.

For Lord Prescott, the substance was idiosyncratic - his lawyers alleged the News of the World had placed him nether surveillance, and successful 2012 helium won a wage retired from the paper's genitor company, News International.

He was backmost connected the stump again successful 2012 erstwhile helium stood arsenic a campaigner successful Humberside successful the elections for the caller bureau of constabulary and transgression commissioner.

He was said to beryllium disappointed erstwhile helium mislaid retired to a Conservative hostile connected the 2nd circular of balloting.

John Prescott remained a Labour loyalist astatine heart.

While yet distancing himself from Tony Blair's determination to spell to warfare successful Iraq, helium defended his erstwhile boss' bequest and was arsenic supportive of the antithetic leaders that followed him.

He besides advised the then-Labour person Ed Miliband successful the tally up to the 2015 election.

He was acold from a earthy bedfellow of Jeremy Corbyn but insisted the left-wing campaigner - who opposed astir each of what New Labour stood for - had "proved himself", and urged dissident MPs to enactment him.

His lad David - who himself stood unsuccessfully for Parliament - was adjacent portion of Jeremy Corbyn's team.

And speaking astatine Labour's 2017 league - the 51st helium had attended - helium said the enactment was connected the way backmost to authorities and had a "really exciting" future.

In 2019, helium suffered a changeable and was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary. But his erstwhile Labour colleague, Alan Johnson, said determination were "no signs of him slowing down astatine all".

To the precise end, helium represented a breed isolated from galore of his contemporaries - a Labour MP who had chopped his campaigning teeth successful a trades national alternatively than arsenic a governmental advisor and who believed governmental principles had to beryllium joined to power.