John Prescott RIP

[Zonder]

Whatever your political leaning, it's a sad day for politics. Sad to hear Gordon Brown just now on radio 4 describe him as a Colossus then to hear that he died in a care home with Alzheimer's. Hard to imagine.
Still remembered who people were to the end and kept his warmth and friendliness.

Yes, but Rayner has been over promoted,
premised in part on her ‘authentic’ hard knock roots (read questionable life choices).

She will be found out soon enough. Her working class ‘gobby’ schtick will lose its temporary appeal.

Just my theory you understand.

From experience, I can tell you that if someone assaults you, standing there and expecting them to do the decent thing and stop doesn't work. Fighting back does.

Angela Rayner on twitter

https://x.com/AngelaRayner/status/1859518996678140051

I am deeply saddened by the news of John Prescott’s death.

John was not only a Labour legend but an inspiration to me and a dear friend. He will be greatly missed by so many.

My thoughts and prayers are with Pauline and the rest of his family. May he rest in peace.

@EverythingAllatOnceAllTheTime so many of your comments just ooze nastiness. Are you very unhappy in your life?

I don’t agree with any of her policies but she looked wonderful at the despatch box this week. I admire her actually. She’s pulled herself up by her boot straps. What a story.

Its a form of attention seeking, disrupt, get others to react, only one way to deal with such people and thats to starve them of reactions.

I can imagine she and John got on well.

Yes, she did really well at PMQs.

She always does, she’s very quick on her feet.

I am from Hull. In a former career I worked in the Merchant Navy. There was an accident at sea and several of my colleagues were killed. I recall JP saying it wouldn’t have happened if the crew of the other ship had been British. This incensed me quite a lot and word got back to him via one of his sons, who was a journalist. I ended up being invited for afternoon tea at his constituency house with him and Pauline.

I agree @derxa
Similarly Prescott managed to get to university in his 20s to study Economics and Economic History having left school without qualifications. I do admire those that can't for whatever reason take the usual route but had to forge paths of their own. I dont think you have to share a political outlook for that. I feel similarly about John Major's rise (actually I suspect my politics might be a weird cross between the two!)

Thats the weird thing - I am happy.

I must confess to being happier since I managed to mitigate my tax exposure to Labour though.

I enjoy a full and varied life, but I do like to allocate some time to calling out hypocrisy.

He was dyslexic at a time when that was not known about. So yes, he overcame that challenge too.

What happened next? Did you discuss it with him? Please tell us more if you're willing.

❤️❤️❤️

I did not agree with all of Prescott's policies and was not a fan, but I am saddened at how people are behaving here.

@MyKindCrab I have particularly appreciated some of your posts on this thread, thank you. We don't all have to think of vote a certain way to appreciate the good in someone.

Ah! That explains him punching that bloke who threw an egg at him!

@Zonder Thank you, I appreciate that.
I do admire how Prescott managed to achieve a high position in government from where he started out - attending a Secondary Modern and working as a steward and waiter. You have to be intelligent and have sheer grit to do that.

I’m a great advocate for dyslexic people. John Prescott is a prime example.

Thank you for starting this thread. It's a shame there are a couple of idiots trying to make it all about them rather than the man himself.

I liked him for being real, he didn't try to project an image, he was just himself and made a positive impact on the world

RIP

A friend of mine has just been round. I discovered that in his 20s her dad had worked the ships with John Prescott. In later years he was having trouble with the Merchant Navy and his pension. He wrote to Prescott for help and it was sorted in about a week. There’s a picture of the two of them together in Prescott’s biography apparently - friend’s dad sent it to him when he thanked him for his help.
That’s a decent man.

What a lovely story, @cardibach ❤️

I'm glad we have the thread @Llttledrummergirl it's nice to see all the positive comments.

Lovely story @cardibach

It’s quite made my day. I never met her dad but he was a character by all accounts.

"I’m a great advocate for dyslexic people. John Prescott is a prime example."

As a dyslexic person I thank you 🙏
(Autocorrect changed that to think you - nearly didn't spot that!)