The life of John Prescott - Hull's most famous politician

John Prescott, Hull East's MP for 40 years, was a major British political figure, at the forefront of the Labour Party's modernisation in the 1990s, and the country's longest-serving deputy prime minister.

Major policy initiatives he led when in government included climate negotiations, improved housing, and greater emphasis on the use of public transport.

The former Labour MP was a larger than life character, known for his northern, working class roots, his straight-talking manner - sometimes including gaffes known as 'Prescottisms' - and his pugnacious political campaigning style. His punchy personality, of course, most famously made headlines in 2001 when Prescott, a former amateur boxer, struck back on the campaign trial at an egg-wielding protester.

"John is John" was then-prime minister Tony Blair's defence of him the day after. The "true son of Hull" as Hull Trains has described him was not actually from Hull.

He was born on May 31, 1938, in Prestatyn, north Wales. His father was a railway signalman and his mother was from a mining family. He remained proudly Welsh in his life, even though the family moved to South Yorkshire when he was four.

At 15, he became a trainee chef on leaving school, before becoming a steward and waiter in the Merchant Navy, working for Cunard. He was active in the National Union of Seamen. In November 1961, he married Pauline Tilston.

In 1965, he gained a diploma in economics and politics from Ruskin College, Oxford. His permanent association with Hull came not long after.

In 1968, he got a Bsc Economics and Economic History degree from the University of Hull. Then, two years later and at the age of just 32, he was elected for the first time as Hull East's MP. He would be re-elected nine times. His maiden speech on July 14, 1970, focused on the importance of Hull's port.

Political rise

John Prescott took on a leadership mantle in the Labour Party not at Westminster, but in the European Parliament, sitting as an MEP between 1975 and 1979. He was the leader of the Labour group there.

Various shadow cabinet roles followed under Neil Kinnock's leadership of the Labour Party, including as Shadow Transport Secretary twice. In 1983, he swam two miles down the Thames as a protest against Conservative government policy to put nuclear waste in the sea.

After the 1992 general election, he sealed his prominent position in the party. He made a key speech at the 1993 party conference in favour of a one member, one vote, system and an end to trade union block voting in the Labour Party.

The next year, he was elected deputy leader as Tony Blair became leader. His strong union links were key as the party transformed into New Labour. He also later reportedly acted as like a marriage counsellor to Blair and Gordon Brown as their relationship became fractious.

Tony Blair made him deputy prime minister and also initially, Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and Regions. He led the British government's negotiations at the landmark 1997 Kyoto Protocol, where scores of developed nations committed to limit greenhouse gas emissions. He presided over transport policy as Hull Trains came into existence at the millennium, improving train links between Hull and London King's Cross.

Lord Prescott as he became, also pushed for devolution, advocating for regional assemblies. This failed after North East England rejected it in a referendum, but former prime minister Gordon Brown has said the devolution and mayors of today owe "a great deal" to John Prescott's work. Under the then-expanded Environment Secretary brief, Lord Prescott also made significant strides on housing policy, such as co-leading an Urban Task Force to try to revive inner city areas.

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Controversies and last parliamentary speech

The Hull East MP had his controversial moments. In 1999, during his advocacy of public transport over car use, he used his ministerial car, a Jaguar, for a 200-yard journey. Owning his own Jaguar as well, he got dubbed "two Jags" by the press.

The Sun revised this to "two jabs" in 2001, when Prescott famously punched the protester. He had public rocky personal life moments too and was criticised in the 2009 MPs expenses scandal for using taxpayer money to claim for two lavatory seats and for fake Tudor beams in his home. He defended this by stating it was within the rules at the time.

His advocacy of the environment was strong throughout his career. His last parliamentary contribution was in November 2022 on the latest climate negotiations summit. He had stood down as an MP in 2010 and was a life peer in the House of Lords.

His last contested election was in 2012 when he lost out on becoming Humberside's first Police and Crime Commissioner. He was less prominent in the last years of his life after a stroke in 2019. He died aged 86 in a care home after lately battling Alzheimer's disease.

He is survived by his wife Pauline and their two sons, David and Johnathan.