Prescott: I'll still be doing politics in my coffin

By Ian Dunt

John Prescott has promised he will not be "sitting around in my slippers" despite his humiliating defeat in the Humberside police commissioner elections.

The former deputy prime minister was beaten to the post by Matthew Grove, a building inspector, by 2,231 votes despite being the most high-profile politician involved in the elections.

"I don't think I'll stand for election again but I will forever be a politician and campaigner. It is who I am and the party I am in," he told the Hull Daily Mail.

"I'm not going to be sitting around in my slippers. I will be campaigning in my coffin.

"This is the beauty of being in the Lords, I'm still involved in politics."

The Blairite, who was dubbed 'Two-Jags' by the press for his travelling arrangements, still seemed sore about the fact he lost due to the technicalities of the Supplementary Vote system. Despite picking up 3,842 more first-preference votes than the Tory candidate he fell short on second-preference.

"Of course I'm disappointed to lose. I always wanted to win," he said.

"It isn't my first time in defeat, I was beaten for the leadership twice, and that is what a democracy is about – you give people the chance to vote.

"In a normal election, we would have won but, because there were second votes, we didn't."
Presoctt, who said he was going to focus on press regulation and the Leveson inquiry in the wake of the elections, focused some of his fire on the press.

"I had the most damaging attacks by the national press during the campaign. I can't think of another candidate that had the nationals lining up against them. Only one didn't give me a kicking," he said.

"Thank God for the regionals is all I can say."

The police commissioner elections had some of the lowest turnout in British history, but Humberside was at the upper end of the spectrum with nearly 20%.