The politician who famously punched someone in the face after being ‘egged’ on the campaign trail has passed on. Yes, former deputy prime minister John Prescott has died. He was 86.

This Writer did not know him personally, but I do recall that the size of his personality gave a huge amount of left-wing weight to Tony Blair’s New Labour government.

Here‘s The Guardian:

Prescott served as deputy prime minister for more than a decade under Blair, and was seen as a custodian of the Labour party’s traditional values in the face of a modernising leadership.

He acted as a mediator in the often turbulent relationship between Blair and Brown, and oversaw government policy on the environment, transport and the regions, helping to negotiate the international Kyoto protocol on climate change.

At times short-tempered, Prescott famously punched a protester who threw an egg at him during an election campaign visit to north Wales in 2001.

Blair recounted the moment Prescott punched the egg-throwing protester. “This caused a huge sort of fracas, obviously. We had to give a press conference in the election campaign the next day … I just said: ‘Well, John is John.’ And so was that supposed to be an answer? I said: ‘Yeah, that’s an answer, that’s as much as you can say.’”

Prescott was a loyal supporter of Blair in office but subsequently critical of parts of New Labour’s legacy, denouncing Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war. He also strongly defended Jeremy Corbyn during his time as party leader in the face of fierce criticism.

Lord Prescott (he was ennobled in 2010) had Alzheimer’s in later life and died peacefully in a care home.

Prescott ceased to be a member of the Lords in July after developing health difficulties. He had spoken only once in the chamber since having a stroke in 2019, official records show, and had not voted since February 2023.

Prescott’s wife, Pauline, and sons Johnathan and David said he had died “surrounded by the love of his family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery” and that representing the people of Hull had been “his greatest honour”.

You can find out more about John Prescott by buying these books, which I offer as an Amazon Associate:

Prezza – My Story: Pulling No Punches (Hardcover)

Docks to Downing Street – My Story (Paperback)

Fighting Talk: Biography of John Prescott (Paperback)

---

Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:

Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:

1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.

2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical

3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com

5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky

6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical

7) Feel free to comment!

And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!

If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!

Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:

The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:

Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here: