John Prescott, who rose via Britain’s industry union motion to grow to be one of the most nation’s best-known politicians and function deputy top minister for a decade, has died. He used to be 86.In a remark on social media, his circle of relatives mentioned he died peacefully on Wednesday, “surrounded via the affection of his circle of relatives and the jazz tune of Marian Bernard Law Montgomery.” The remark famous that he had suffered a stroke in 2019 and had latterly been residing with Alzheimer’s illness.Simple-speaking and proudly running elegance, Mr. Prescott served as a visual hyperlink to Labour’s conventional origins when the birthday party got here to energy in 1997 below the modernizing management of Tony Blair.In executive, Mr. Prescott championed environmental reasons — taking part in a key function in world local weather negotiations — and labored laborious to shift energy from London to the English areas.Extra necessary for Labour, he helped defuse inside tensions between Mr. Blair and his chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, a rival who would sooner or later grow to be Mr. Blair’s successor. On the time, Mr. Prescott used to be jokingly known as the political identical of a wedding steering counselor.
