FORMER Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has died aged 86 following a battle with Alzheimer’s.
He had been living in a care home following a stroke in 2019 and passed away “peacefully” surrounded by family.
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In a statement announcing his death, Lord Prescott’s wife and two sons said: “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.”
The family added: “John spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment.
“He did so from his time as a waiter on the cruise liners to becoming Britain’s longest serving deputy prime minister.
“John dearly loved his home of Hull and representing its people in Parliament for 40 years was his greatest honour.”
Prescott died peacefully yesterday “surrounded by family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery”, the family added.
He served as Deputy PM from 1997 to 2007 as a member of the Labour Party.
Prescott was a key New Labour power broker who often managed the tense relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
He was first elected MP for Kingston upon Hull East in 1970 – holding the seat for almost 40 years
He first joined the shadow cabinet in 1983 with the transport brief, before quickly rising through Labour ranks.
As Deputy PM Prescott played a big role negotiating the 1997 Kyoto climate change agreement.
And he was widely seen as a working-class tribune who ensured Labour’s union backers went along with Blair’s centrist reforms.
But he remains most famous for punching a protester who threw an egg at him during a rally in 2001.
The politician later joked about the incident quipping: “There was only one punch.
“Tony Blair rang me and he said ‘Are you OK?’ and I said ‘Yes’, and he said ‘Well, what happened?’.
“I said ‘I was just carrying out your orders. You told us to connect with the electorate, so I did’.”
And he was nicknamed “two Jags” after it emerged he both owned a Jaguar while had the run of a second ministerial car.
In 2015, he was banned from speeding after being caught doing 60mph in a 50mph zone in one of his beloved Jags.
After spending his MP career criticising the Lords as an “offence to democracy”, he shrugged off hypocrisy claims when appointed – saying he accepted a peerage because his wife Pauline wanted him to.
After his time as Deputy PM Prescott took a short break from politics – before coming back to advise Tony Blair.
Prescott left the Lords this July after a stroke in 2019 stopped him attending or voting.
He was born in the Welsh seaside town of Prestatyn and first worked as a steward in the Merchant Navy.
Prescott then studied at Ruskin College in Oxford, before entering politics.
What are the symptoms of stroke?
The FAST method – which stands for Face, Arms, Speech, Time – is the easiest way to remember the most common symptoms of stroke:
F = Face drooping – if one side of a person’s face is dropped or numb then ask them to smile, if it’s uneven then you should seek help.
A = Arm weakness – if one arm is weak or numb then you should ask the person to raise both arms. If one arm drifts downwards then you might need to get help
S = Speech difficulty – if a person’s speech is slurred then this could be a sign of a stroke
T = Time to call 999 – if a person has the signs above then you need to call 999 in the UK or 911 in the US for emergency care.
Other symptoms include:
- sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body
- difficulty finding words
- sudden blurred vision or loss of sight
- sudden confusion, dizziness or unsteadiness
- a sudden and severe headache
- difficulty understanding what others are saying
- difficulty swallowing
Is it ageing or dementia?
Dementia – the most common form of which is Alzheimer’s – comes on slowly over time.
As the disease progresses, symptoms can become more severe.
But at the beginning, the symptoms can be subtle or mistaken for normal memory issues related to ageing.
The US National Institute on Aging gives some examples of what is considered normal forgetfulness in old age, and dementia disease.
You can refer to these above.
For example, it is normal for an ageing person to forget which word to use from time-to-time, but difficulting having conversation would be more indicative of dementia.
Katie Puckering, Head of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s Information Services team, previously told The Sun: “We quite commonly as humans put our car keys somewhere out of the ordinary and it takes longer for us to find them.
“As you get older, it takes longer for you to recall, or you really have to think; What was I doing? Where was I? What distracted me? Was it that I had to let the dog out? And then you find the keys by the back door.
“That process of retrieving the information is just a bit slower in people as they age.
“In dementia, someone may not be able to recall that information and what they did when they came into the house.
“What may also happen is they might put it somewhere it really doesn’t belong. For example, rather than putting the milk back in the fridge, they put the kettle in the fridge.”
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