John Leslie Prescott was born on 31st May 1938 in Prestatyn, North Wales. His
grandfather was a miner and his father, John Herbert Prescott, was a
white-collar railway worker, a local Labour councillor and a JP. John junior
attended Brinsworth Primary School, in Rotherham, and then moved on to Grange
Secondary Modern School in Ellesmere Port, where he failed his 11-plus.
John has worked as a trainee chef; in the Merchant Navy as a steward on Cunard Passenger Liners; and later as an official with the National Union of Seamen. He joined the Labour Party at the age of eighteen in 1956.
Always ambitious, John took a correspondence course with the Workers' Educational Association before going on to gain a Diploma in Economics and Politics at Ruskin College - the Trades Union backed college at Oxford, and a BSc (Econ) in economics and economic history at the University of Hull.
In 1970, he entered Parliament as MP for Kingston-upon-Hull East, and in 1974 became Parliamentary Private Secretary to Peter Shore, who at that time was Secretary of State for Trade. He has been Shadow Secretary for Transport (1983-84), Employment (1984-89, 1993-94) and Energy (1987-88).
In 1994 he was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and was also appointed to the Privy Council that same year.
After Labour's landslide victory in the 1997 elections, John was appointed First Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
He married his wife Pauline, who he met in Chester, in 1961. They have two sons: Johnathan (Born 1963) and David (Born 1970). Among his hobbies, John lists jazz, the theatre, music and sub-aqua diving.
Although he came from a working class background and represents primarily working class people, John has astutely voiced the view that most of his constituents would realise anyway: that "once you are an MP you are no longer working class". But this doesn't prevent him from striving for equality of opportunity for those he represents. In fact, his own achievements shine as a perfect example that it is possible for most of us to improve our lot, and hopefully that of others, if we put our mind to it.
John is a very popular politician, both with party activists and the ordinary voter. His no-nonsense approach, not only to politics but to life in general, endears him to almost everyone he comes in to contact with. His constituents feel they can approach him easily and that he has a great deal of time for them. He is often seen in Hull city centre, where people of all ages shout greetings to him across the street. They always get a response.
The title of the song by The Smith's, This Charming Man, sums John
up very nicely - unless you're a Tory!