John Prescott, who has died aged 86, was a leading figure in New Labour, but he was also instinctively skeptical of some of New Labour’s instincts.
He was a bridgehead to Labour’s traditional working-class roots, and he valued and embodied championing the aspirations of those less well-off.
His value to Tony Blair, who won a landslide victory in 1997 and went on to win two more elections with Prescott at his side, reassured those in the Labor Party who were skeptical of a move towards centre. It was something that I was able to do and guide.
He was also a cohesive agent who was adept at bringing parties and sometimes warring factions together.
It’s not hard to see the similarities between then and now. Once again, a plain-spoken working-class man from the north was appointed deputy prime minister, replaced by a sophisticated lawyer from north London.
Angela Rayner’s backstory and approach to politics have clear similarities to John Prescott, something Rayner herself openly admits.
Explaining how she plans to carry out the job of Deputy Prime Minister in 2022, she told LBC: “I’m going to be John Prescott in a skirt, just say it like I mean it.”
She added: “John and I are good friends and see each other often. I definitely look better in skirts.”
in Pay tribute to her mentor on social mediaReiner said: “John was not only a Labor Party legend, but an inspiration to me and my dear friends. He will be missed by many.”
Both left school with few qualifications and had experience in the trade union movement before entering politics.
And both were able to articulate the true instincts of Labour’s base in their own familiar language and style.
Prescott sometimes took unconventional methods of persuading voters. hit one of them.
And in the 2020s, as modern Labor sought to soar in popularity by courting modern Tory voters, it was Rayner who described some Tory ministers as “a bunch of scum.” a statement she later apologized for.
The old prejudice that all politicians look and sound the same never applies to Prescott and Rayner.
Social class is an important prism through which Prescott considers his career, politics, and life.
Although there was a lot of talk about how he had the true working class mettle of a smooth and sophisticated middle-class New Labour, his class consciousness, or in his words, ‘the lowest class’ ” and others were a large part of how he viewed himself. , and how he viewed others.
If you have time today, I recommend you to listen to this Great documentary on BBC Sounds – Prescott At Your Service – The story of 19-year-old John Prescott, who works as a waiter on a cruise ship bound for New Zealand. The future deputy prime minister will serve former prime minister Anthony Eden, who recently resigned.
Decades later, Tony Blair would recall that Prescott’s own self-image was always present in his daily interactions within government.
“He could smell condescension, contempt, superiority, or cynicism at a thousand paces. I was able to follow it.”
John Prescott was the conduit between Labour’s past and present.
He was also the glue that held Tony Blair and Gordon Brown together, a vital but sometimes dysfunctional relationship that defined the first decade of Labour’s government from 1997 to 2010. Ta.
And he showed a path to near the pinnacle of power for people from backgrounds that still rarely reach the top tables of British politics.
