John Prescott hailed as Labour 'titan' as tributes flood in - 'no one quite like him'

John Prescott has been hailed as a Labour titan and hero of working people as tributes flooded in after his death at age 86.

The former Deputy Prime Minister and Labour MP for four decades died peacefully on Wednesday at a care home where he had been living with Alzheimer's.

In a statement released after his death, his wife Pauline and sons, Johnathan and David, said that representing the people of Hull had been "his greatest honour".

"We are deeply saddened to inform you that our beloved husband, father and grandfather, John Prescott, passed away peacefully yesterday at the age of 86," they said. "He did so surrounded by the love of his family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery."

Sir Tony Blair said there was "no one quite like him" in British politics who was "key" to holding the New Labour government together. The ex-merchant seaman Lord Prescott, who was described as an inspiration to working-class boys, served as deputy PM for a decade after Labour’s 1997 landslide election victory.

He was known to have acted as a “marriage counsellor” for his mediating role between Sir Tony and his then Chancellor Gordon Brown. Sir Tony added: "He looked upon himself as a bridge - and indeed he was a bridge. He was a vital part of keeping the whole show together."

Referring to the infamous 2001 incident of Prescott throwing a punch at a protester who threw an egg at him, Sir Tony said “there were no rules that he really abided by”.

In his own tribute, Mr Brown said: “Few achieve something akin to heroic status in their own lifetime, particularly when having to deal with the compromises of being in government, but John Prescott became - and will remain - a legend of the Labour Party.”

He added: "John Lennon said the working class hero is a difficult thing to be, but I think John would be just fine with being remembered that way.

“He wanted the good things in life for everyone and not just himself. And he showed that Britain can be a country where if you work hard you can fill your potential."

Brown also championed his early action on the climate crisis alongside former US vice president Al Gore, who worked with on the 1997 Kyoto climate agreement. The American politician said he had "never worked with anyone in politics - on my side of the pond or his - quite like John Prescott".

He added: "He possessed an inherent ability to connect with people about the issues that mattered to them - a talent that others spend years studying and cultivating, but that was second nature to him.”

Labour veteran Harriet Harman, who succeeded him as deputy leader of the party, said he was a "combative unifier who outsmarted those who underestimated him". The former Home Secretary David Blunkett, who served in Sir Tony Blair's Cabinet described him as "tenacious, sometimes furious and always committed".

In a statement on X, he wrote: "It is often said that someone is a 'once off'. But in John's case, it was absolutely true. Tenacious, sometimes furious, always committed and totally loyal to the Labour cause.”

New Labour architect Lord Peter Mandelson, who Lord Prescott once compared to a crab he had named "Peter" in 1997, said the pair had made peace in their final chat.

Lord Mandelson said he was "absolutely impossible" to work with but was "loyal" and "wanted to make it work". He said: "When I say he was sort of courageous, he was. When I say he was loyal, he was. When I say he was determined, he was.

"He was always determined to get his own way on any particular issue at any given moment. Right up until the point he'd say, 'OK, I'll do this for you. You do this for me. As long as you cover this off, I'll happily go along with it.'

In the Commons Keir Starmer also paid tribute to a “one-off” and “true giant” of the Labour movement. He said: “A man who fought for working-class ambition because he lived it. As one of the key architects of a Labour government, John achieved that rare thing, he changed people's lives and he set the path for us all to follow, and I will always be grateful to him for that.”

And the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle described Lord Prescott as a “towering figure”. He said time would be set aside next week for MPs’ tributes in the chamber.