John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull East for 40 years, from 1970 to 2010. He was seen as the political link to the working class in a Labour Party increasingly led by modernising, middle-class professionals such as Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson and developed a reputation as a key conciliator in the often fractious relationship between Blair and Gordon Brown.
Official portrait, c. 1997
Prescott during his last day as Deputy Prime Minister, 27 June 2007
Prescott in 2009
Dennis Skinner and Prescott at the 2016 Labour Party Conference
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom is the second highest ranking minister of the Crown and a member of the British Cabinet. The title is not always in use and prime ministers have been known to appoint informal deputies without the title of deputy prime minister. The incumbent deputy prime minister is Oliver Dowden who also serves as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office.
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Anthony Eden is often described as Winston Churchill's deputy, though his appointment as deputy prime minister in 1951 was actually rejected by the King.
Image: Lord Heseltine (6969083278)
Image: John Prescott official portrait (cropped)
