OPINION - John Prescott's death feels like the demise of the real Old Labour

Tony Blair said this greeting that helium felt “devastated” by the decease of John Prescott, his lawman erstwhile helium was premier minister. And nary wonder. Prescott was, helium observed, the “yin to his yang”, oregon perchance the different mode round, idiosyncratic from a little privileged inheritance from him, a antithetic facet of the Labour Party. And that’s precisely wherefore his decease feels similar the demise of existent Old Labour, the moving people portion of it.

I knew John Prescott a little: luncheon astatine Westminster, chats astatine the Irish Embassy oregon the Labour conference. He was pleasant, affable, humorous, successful my experience. I took him to task for saying astatine the commencement of the New Labour task that helium wouldn’t speech to Tories. Why not? I demanded. “I don’t similar Tories,” helium said unanswerably. He softened implicit time, but immoderate Tories did poke him with sticks, similar the ones who’d loudly inquire him to fetch the drinks connected relationship of him having been a steward connected a Cunard liner (miraculously, helium ne'er punched them).

One of the things that struck maine was that, similar the different Old Labour stalwart, Barbara Castle, helium was ever smartly turned retired successful a suit and tie; not for him the louche outfits of a much laid-back generation. “I was ever brought up to formal smartly”, helium said. It showed respect. Pauline, his delightful hairdresser wife, made definite that helium ever looked the part. Although helium came from a coagulated commercialized national background, helium was the merchandise of the respectable moving class, radical who got married, were turned retired nicely and kept down a due job.

He was a merchandise of the aspirational moving class

He was besides a merchandise of the aspirational moving class, those who tried to amended themselves; famously, helium failed the eleven-plus. He went to Ruskin College, Oxford successful 1962 wherever helium got a grade successful politics and economics: helium was precisely the benignant of pupil that the assemblage was established for, coming from a working-class background, the benignant who wouldn’t person recovered it casual to get a spot astatine Oxford conventionally. Ruskin (according to its critics) doesn’t truly person that relation anymore. He aboriginal studied economics astatine Hull University.

So though his begetter was classical Labour, being a railway signalman, and his parent came from a mining family, helium sought to propulsion himself up done education; a procreation oregon 2 earlier, helium would person educated himself astatine 1 of the Working Men’s Institutes. In this, helium resembles nary 1 truthful overmuch arsenic Neil Kinnock, lad of a ember miner, who likewise educated himself retired of his background.

The modern equivalent of Prescott is Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister to different lawyer with her ain uncompromisingly non-establishment accent. But the differences are arsenic striking arsenic the similarities and not conscionable due to the fact that Prescott would person been improbable to person accepted suits from Lord Alli. John Prescott was a merchant seaman, a occupation that is nowadays often occupied by workers from abroad; Angela dropped retired of schoolhouse astatine 16 erstwhile she got large and became a attraction idiosyncratic for the section assembly successful Stockport. That suggests however Labour has changed; the enactment of the moving people has go the enactment of the nationalist sector.

The Labour marketplace has changed

When you look astatine the Starmer cabinet, determination are vanishingly fewer radical from an Old Labour background; assembly and nationalist assemblage workers are the norm; ditto those moving successful education. And it shows however the labour marketplace has changed. If you wanted to get idiosyncratic similar Prescott into parliament now, you’d look for idiosyncratic similar Mick Lynch, caput of the RMT union, who shows nary motion of entering parliamentary politics. His archetypal backer, remember, was John Smith, the devoutly Christian, old-school Labour politician, who utilized the aged commercialized unionist Prescott to get the unions connected broadside successful the betterment of the Labour Party.

Prescott played up to his gruff persona; you got the content that helium enjoyed ruffling the sensibilities of the Establishment, and determination were so galore who came implicit queasy astatine the conception of him representing Britain connected important missions abroad. But immoderate of the disapproval directed astatine him was misplaced; helium was, for instance, criticised for being seen to play croquet with his unit astatine Dorneywood … but why, you inquire yourself, was it someway non-working people to play croquet, a crippled which, successful its viciousness, could practically person been invented for politicians? Good for him, I reflected.

A much telling lapse was his matter with his erstwhile secretary, Tracey Temple, which suggested that helium had changed from the antheral who joined nice, beautifully coiffed Pauline (his excuse for taking a Jaguar astir 200 yards astatine the Labour league was that helium didn’t privation to ruffle Pauline’s hair). She had the past laugh. When the matter emerged, she made wide that she’d beryllium exacting rather a fewer favours successful instrumentality for lasting by him.

Looking astatine the contiguous Labour cabinet, you consciousness the privation of a Prescott. None of them represents Old Labour, successful the societal alternatively than the governmental sense. He was the Spirit of Labour Past; Labour Present is simply a much diminished entity.