John Prescott, who rose through Britain's trade union movement to become one of the country's best-known politicians and serve as deputy prime minister for a decade, has died. He was 86.
Plain-speaking and proudly working class, Mr. Prescott served as a visible link to Labour's traditional origins when the party came to power in 1997 under the modernizing leadership of Tony Blair.
In government, Mr. Prescott championed environmental causes playing a key role in international climate negotiations and worked hard to shift power from London to the English regions.
More important for Labour, he helped defuse internal tensions between Mr. Blair and his chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, a rival who would eventually become Mr. Blair's successor.
Collection
[
|
...
]