The Probable Demise Of J Prescott (and New Labour)

[Sean 5,997]

Let's hope he keeps his birthday cake down.

[TQR 12,024]

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[Cat O'Falk 3,287]

How's John doing lately? Anyone heard owt?  

[YoungWillz 18,926]

56 minutes ago, Cat O'Falk said:

How's John doing lately? Anyone heard owt?  

He loves the NHS and the NHS loves him. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48745868

 

Not my words, but those of DJ Jezza C, the Labour leader mixmaster. Notice you can make "Marxist" out of "mixmaster".....

[Ulitzer95 10,919]

Can't seem to figure out Prescott's state of wellbeing, hence I think putting him on the list next year would be quite a risk.

He had his stroke in June 2019. Since then he hasn't given an interview or spoken in the Lords, and he hasn't tweeted since June 2019 either.

However, he's been voting regularly in the Lords, every week in fact, including today.

He hasn't been pictured since early 2019. A photo would be most welcome. Surely he'll be sat in the Chamber somewhere during some of the proceedings.

So, what are his odds on seeing 2022 do we think?
 

[Octopus of Odstock 1,848]

1 hour ago, Ulitzer95 said:

Can't seem to figure out Prescott's state of wellbeing, hence I think putting him on the list next year would be quite a risk.

He had his stroke in June 2019. Since then he hasn't given an interview or spoken in the Lords, and he hasn't tweeted since June 2019 either.

However, he's been voting regularly in the Lords, every week in fact, including today.

He hasn't been pictured since early 2019. A photo would be most welcome. Surely he'll be sat in the Chamber somewhere during some of the proceedings.

So, what are his odds on seeing 2022 do we think?
 

Tsk Tsk Ulitzer. For a person of your research calibre..  Looks okay to me.  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/lord-john-prescott-labour-stroke-3757570.amp

[Ulitzer95 10,919]

25 minutes ago, Octopus of Odstock said:

Tsk Tsk Ulitzer. For a person of your research calibre..  Looks okay to me.  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/lord-john-prescott-labour-stroke-3757570.amp

Definitely something wrong with my Google Search! I even changed the time frame to the last 12 months and nothing came up!

[Octopus of Odstock 1,848]

40 minutes ago, Ulitzer95 said:

Definitely something wrong with my Google Search! I even changed the time frame to the last 12 months and nothing came up!

 

I searched for John Prescott 2020 and it came straight up. Might be a few more from local press. 

[The Old Crem 3,164]

Remember through Lords can vote from home atm so being over 80 I doubt he has been to the chamber to vote in person much this year but he looked pretty well in January so not one for the list next year.

[RoverAndOut 3,384]

Enjoying "Blair and Brown: The New Labour Revolution" (Mondays, BBC2, all episodes on iPlayer). Episode 3 covered 2000-2001 (up to and including the 2001 election). John Prescott's punch came up, and led to a good 5-minute segment discussing Prezza's role in the New Labour movement and his position as mediator between TB and GB at times of strife. The reason I mention it is the man himself hasn't featured at all. Not that this is necessarily significant, other leading Labour figures of the time are missing too (Jack Straw and Margaret Beckett to name two), but given his proximity to the main actors his absence is notable.

 

For those interested, so far we've seen Blair, Brown, Blunkett, Milburn, a surprisingly sprightly looking John Reid, Mandelson, Michael Howard and William Hague. Plus Alistair Campbell, Ed Balls and Douglas Alexander (who were aides to Brown), and a variety of other aides and civil servants.

[The Old Crem 3,164]

10 minutes ago, RoverAndOut said:

Enjoying "Blair and Brown: The New Labour Revolution" (Mondays, BBC2, all episodes on iPlayer). Episode 3 covered 2000-2001 (up to and including the 2001 election). John Prescott's punch came up, and led to a good 5-minute segment discussing Prezza's role in the New Labour movement and his position as mediator between TB and GB at times of strife. The reason I mention it is the man himself hasn't featured at all. Not that this is necessarily significant, other leading Labour figures of the time are missing too (Jack Straw and Margaret Beckett to name two), but given his proximity to the main actors his absence is notable.

 

For those interested, so far we've seen Blair, Brown, Blunkett, Milburn, a surprisingly sprightly looking John Reid, Mandelson, Michael Howard and William Hague. Plus Alistair Campbell, Ed Balls and Douglas Alexander (who were aides to Brown), and a variety of other aides and civil servants.

Prehaps he simply declined. Beckett must have as she is still completely active. 

[msc 17,708]

13 minutes ago, RoverAndOut said:

Enjoying "Blair and Brown: The New Labour Revolution" (Mondays, BBC2, all episodes on iPlayer). Episode 3 covered 2000-2001 (up to and including the 2001 election). John Prescott's punch came up, and led to a good 5-minute segment discussing Prezza's role in the New Labour movement and his position as mediator between TB and GB at times of strife. The reason I mention it is the man himself hasn't featured at all. Not that this is necessarily significant, other leading Labour figures of the time are missing too (Jack Straw and Margaret Beckett to name two), but given his proximity to the main actors his absence is notable.

 

For those interested, so far we've seen Blair, Brown, Blunkett, Milburn, a surprisingly sprightly looking John Reid, Mandelson, Michael Howard and William Hague. Plus Alistair Campbell, Ed Balls and Douglas Alexander (who were aides to Brown), and a variety of other aides and civil servants.

 

I was going to say Prescott's not done any public appearances since his nasty stroke a few years ago, but actually, he made one today as part of the COP build up!

 

 

 

Note this was away from cameras bar a few publicity shots, he may have trouble speaking nowadays and not want to appear on TV - understandably.

[RoverAndOut 3,384]

35 minutes ago, The Old Crem said:

Prehaps he simply declined. Beckett must have as she is still completely active. 

 

Obviously possible, hence I simply noted his absence. But I do wonder if perhaps msc is correct that his speech isn't what it once was. Always worth remembering too that he's considerably older than the other New Labour titans. As for Beckett, I suspect it's more likely she just wasn't asked. Only room/need for so many talking heads in these programmes and she wasn't really at the heart of the New Labour reform movement in the way the others were.

[The Old Crem 3,164]

11 hours ago, msc said:

 

I was going to say Prescott's not done any public appearances since his nasty stroke a few years ago, but actually, he made one today as part of the COP build up!

 

 

 

Note this was away from cameras bar a few publicity shots, he may have trouble speaking nowadays and not want to appear on TV - understandably.

Quite probable. He hasn’t spoken in the lords in two years but is always voting from home. Overall he looks pretty well considering and might well have a few years left in him, 

[msc 17,708]

17 minutes ago, The Old Crem said:

Quite probable. He hasn’t spoken in the lords in two years but is always voting from home. Overall he looks pretty well considering and might well have a few years left in him, 

 

Hopefully. I always thought I quite liked John Prescott, then he punched that egg protestor and I knew I liked him! 

[RoverAndOut 3,384]

1 hour ago, msc said:

Hopefully. I always thought I quite liked John Prescott, then he punched that egg protestor and I knew I liked him! 

 

On the programme, Campbell said he received a phone call just before Blair went on Question Time in the run-up to polling day and John just said "I've walloped someone. It'll be on the news". In the car, Tony was fretting about Prezza punching a voter and wondered out loud if this meant he had to sack him, at which point the two Special Branch lads in the front turned around as if to say "You what?", clear in the belief that if someone hits you, you're entitled to hit them back. In the end, all they could respond with was "John is John". 

[Sean 5,997]

Can the Labour leader actually sack the deputy as  they are directly elected by membership in final round?

[The Old Crem 3,164]

11 minutes ago, Sean said:

Can the Labour leader actually sack the deputy as  they are directly elected by membership in final round?

Not from that role. But as Deputy PM he could have in theory but it would have been a somewhat risky move as Prescott held together a lot of the more skeptical membership to Blairism

[Bibliogryphon 8,599]

37 minutes ago, Sean said:

Can the Labour leader actually sack the deputy as  they are directly elected by membership in final round?

 

That was actually an issue.

 

I think Keir Starmer has the same issue with Angela Rayner

[RoverAndOut 3,384]

1 hour ago, The Old Crem said:

Not from that role. But as Deputy PM he could have in theory but it would have been a somewhat risky move as Prescott held together a lot of the more skeptical membership to Blairism

 

IIRC Blair removed him as Deputy PM in 2006 when his affair became public. He stayed in cabinet as Communities Secretary, where Regional Assemblies were his big pet project.

[Bibliogryphon 8,599]

1 hour ago, RoverAndOut said:

 

IIRC Blair removed him as Deputy PM in 2006 when his affair became public. He stayed in cabinet as Communities Secretary, where Regional Assemblies were his big pet project.

No he remained as Deputy PM until 2007 when Tony Blair stepped down as PM

[RoverAndOut 3,384]

7 minutes ago, Bibliogryphon said:

No he remained as Deputy PM until 2007 when Tony Blair stepped down as PM

 

As usual you're quite right. Just checked, it was the other way round. He was previously Regions Minister but gave that up in 2001, but kept bits of the role under the Office of Deputy Prime Minister until 2006, when they were transferred to the Communitues Department, at which point he was just Deputy PM and First Secretary of State. According to wiki, Blair considered chucking Prescott as Deputy PM in 2006, and replacing him with David Miliband but it came to nothing (perhaps for the reasons suggested).

[Bibliogryphon 8,599]

2 minutes ago, RoverAndOut said:

 

As usual you're quite right. Just checked, it was the other way round. He was previously Regions Minister but gave that up in 2001, but kept bits of the role under the Office of Deputy Prime Minister until 2006, when they were transferred to the Communitues Department, at which point he was just Deputy PM and First Secretary of State. According to wiki, Blair considered chucking Prescott as Deputy PM in 2006, and replacing him with David Miliband but it came to nothing (perhaps for the reasons suggested).

 

Interesting though that he has outlived three of the five people who followed him into his Shadow cabinet roles

[Sean 5,997]

8 hours ago, Bibliogryphon said:

 

That was actually an issue.

 

I think Keir Starmer has the same issue with Angela Rayner

Pretty sure Corbyn would have chucked Watson if he could have .

[The Old Crem 3,164]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10184501/Hes-No-Jags-Lord-Prescott-sells-beloved-Jaguar-cars.html

 

Has sold all his Jaguar cars to go green. He is also attending Cop26 in person.