Former Labour deputy prime minister John Prescott has died aged 86, following a battle with Alzheimer’s, his family has announced.

The former trade union activist and ex-merchant seaman served as MP for Kingston upon Hull East for 40 years and was a key part of New Labour under Sir Tony Blair.

His family said he had “spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment”.

Lord Prescott died peacefully, surrounded by relatives at his care home on 20 November.

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In a statement released after his death, his wife Pauline and sons Johnathan and David said that representing the people of Hull had been his “greatest honour”.

They 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.

“He did so surrounded by the love of his family and the jazz music of Marian Montgomery.

“John spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment, doing 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.”

They continued: “We would like to thank the amazing NHS doctors and nurses who cared for him after his stroke in 2019 and the dedicated staff at the care home where he passed away after latterly living with Alzheimer’s.

“In lieu of flowers and if you wish to do so, you can donate to Alzheimer’s Research UK.

“As you can imagine, our family needs to process our grief so we respectfully request time and space to mourn in private.

“Thank you.

“Pauline, Johnathan and David Prescott.”

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A political giant

Mhari Aurora

Political correspondent

@MhariAurora

The death of John Prescott – the longest-serving deputy prime minister in British history – has sent shockwaves through British politics.

Serving in Neil Kinnock’s shadow cabinet before becoming Tony Blair’s deputy, Prescott was a political giant and an incredibly influential working-class voice in the Labour movement.

The son of a railway signalman and the grandson of a miner, Prescott offered a fresh working-class perspective in stark contrast to Tony Blair’s wealthy Oxbridge background: something that Blair has said undoubtedly contributed to Labour’s electoral success.

Current deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has been compared to John Prescott for providing Starmer with a working-class teammate with a trade union background, but Prescott’s colourful life and authenticity – even when that meant punching a protester for throwing an egg at him – can never be emulated.

Whatever he’s remembered for – from the Kyoto Protocol, being a mediator between Blair and Brown, or perhaps his personal issues – there is no doubt that his career will go down in history as a consequential contribution to the Labour movement.

‘A great man and great servant of country and party’

Lord Prescott served as deputy leader under Sir Tony and was seen by many as a key link to the party’s traditional working-class values amid the modernising push.

The two of them became known as “the odd couple”.

Paying tribute, Sir Tony said he was “devastated” by news of Lord Prescott’s death.

Sir Tony described him as “one of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics” who could “talk in the bluntest and sometimes bluest language”.

He added: “He was from proud traditional working-class stock yet understood instinctively and completely the aspirations of that class and their desire to better themselves.

“It is no exaggeration to say the Labour Party could never have won three consecutive full terms without John.”

Sir Tony continued: “Underneath what could be a fierce exterior, and a manner some undoubtedly found intimidating, beat a loving, kind and compassionate human heart.

“John was as good a friend as you could ever hope to have, with a deep sensitivity, even vulnerability.

“He will deservedly occupy a special place in the pantheon of the Labour leadership; he will be mourned by his many friends and fans around the world and for me personally, today is a day of profound sadness but also immense pride in having known him and worked with him: a great man and great servant of country and Party.”

King tribute to ‘unique character’

The King also paid his respects to Lord Prescott’s achievements and praised his “indomitable character”.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Lord Prescott,” he said. “I remember with great fondness his unique and indomitable character, as well as his infectious sense of humour.

“My thoughts and greatest sympathy are with Lord Prescott’s wife, family and loved ones at such a difficult time, and I am sure that very many people will recognize and greatly appreciate Lord Prescott’s decades of public service in front-line politics.”

Lord Prescott famously punched a protester who threw an egg at him during an election campaign visit in North Wales in 2001.

During much of his time in office, Lord Prescott acted as a mediator between Sir Tony and then-chancellor Gordon Brown.

Mr Brown said: “Few achieve something akin to heroic status in their own lifetime, particularly when having to deal with the compromises of being in government, but John Prescott became – and will remain – a legend of the Labour Party”.

He added: “John Lennon said the working class hero is a difficult thing to be, but I think John would be just fine with being remembered that way.”

Baroness (Harriet) Harman told Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast Mr Prescott was “instrumental in reassuring traditional old Labour voters” who may have been put off by Tony Blair’s New Labour project.

Once in government, “he fought to make sure” the party delivered for “those people who felt left behind”, she added.

“People talk about the Red Wall – John Prescott was the Red Wall.”

He also served as secretary of state for the environment, transport and regions and helped negotiate the international climate change treaty the Kyoto Protocol.

Former US vice president Al Gore worked with Lord Prescott on the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.

He said he had “never worked with anyone in politics – on my side of the pond or his – quite like John Prescott”.

He added: “He possessed an inherent ability to connect with people about the issues that mattered to them – a talent that others spend years studying and cultivating, but that was second nature to him.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “deeply saddened” to hear the news of Lord Prescott’s death.

While a loyal supporter of Sir Tony in office, Lord Prescott subsequently became critical of parts of the legacy left behind by New Labour.

This included denouncing Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War.

He also defended Jeremy Corbyn during his time as party leader in the face of fierce criticism.

He was ennobled in 2010 but ceased to be a member of the upper House in July after facing health difficulties.

He had only spoken once in the chamber since suffering a stroke in 2019, and had not voted since February 2023.

Born in Prestatyn, Wales, on 31 May 1938, the son of a railwayman left school aged 15 to work as a trainee chef, then as a steward on the Cunard Line before entering politics in a career that spanned decades.

Long-awaited legislation to abolish England’s “feudal” leasehold property system will be published in the second half of next year, the government has confirmed in a major update for the millions of people affected.

In a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS), housing minister Matthew Pennycook gave the first details of how quickly Labour intend to axe the controversial form of homeownership, as promised in their manifesto.

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The minister said there will be a consultation and white paper early next year to get the plan in motion, with the aim to make commonhold “the default tenure” by the end of parliament in 2029.

The news has drawn a mixed reaction from those caught up in the system, with some hailing an end in sight and others saying it is too little too late.

What is leasehold?

Leasehold is a centuries-old form of tenure that is unique to England and Wales. People who buy their home with a lease buy the right to live there for a given number of years but don’t own the land itself, regardless of whether it is a house, or a flat in a building.

That is the preserve of the freeholder, who can charge expensive ground rents simply for owning the land, as well as service charges for the maintenance and insurance of the properties.

There have long been concerns around leaseholders being exploited, especially by unregulated managing agents who are typically contracted to oversee the day-to-day running of buildings and can charge large fees on any works they arrange.

Criticism intensified after the building safety scandal that emerged post-Grenfell with many homeowners facing crippling bills for remediation, leaving them stuck in worthless properties they cannot sell.

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‘I see no way out’

That’s the case for leaseholder Peter Batt, who has not been able to live in his “once lovely” flat in Kent for the past nine months because the roof of the building has “completely failed and is disintegrating”.

This has caused damp, black mould and leaks so severe his neighbour’s ceiling below him has collapsed

The problems were raised to the building’s managing agents in February but no remediation has occurred.

Last week he was told he’d need to cough up £18,000 for his share of the works before any repairs can go ahead – money the 60-year-old doesn’t have.

“I genuinely see no way out unless I win the lottery, it’s been an utter nightmare”, he told Sky News.

Mr Batt and his neighbours want a temporary tin hat cover to be prioritised, given this was recommended by surveyors back in April to stop the situation deteriorating – which they say it now has.

But they have “no say over this despite shouldering all the costs”, Mr Batt added.

“The government need to look at root-and-branch reform because, in my experience, all the parties currently charged with maintaining building such as my own are incentivised almost solely around maintaining their revenue stream.

“Under the current system, no one is on the leaseholders’ side and that has to change.”

‘Death knell of leasehold’

In his WMS, Mr Pennycook said the government will introduce a “comprehensive new legal framework” on commonhold, including banning the sale of leasehold flats and converting existing leasehold tenures to the new model.

Proponents of commonhold say it would drive up safety standards, as it would give flat owners more control of the maintenance of a building while removing the cash incentive for developers to build homes on the cheap – knowing leaseholders can pick up the costs.

Sebastian O’Kelly, of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, welcomed today’s announcement as the “death knell of leasehold”.

He advised people not to buy leasehold properties as “the market will force pace on this”, pointing out that some developers have recently come out in support of commonhold while others “whose reputations have been shredded by the Grenfell findings will follow”.

He told Sky News: “With this momentum the reforms to improve the blighted lives of existing leaseholders will be eased. Government may think this process will be slow, but house builders will know that the leasehold game they have played so assiduously is busted.”

Delay in implementing Tories’ ‘half-baked’ reforms

But there was a more muted response from the National Leasehold Campaign, which has spent six years trying to dismantle the system.

As well as announcing a roadmap for abolishing leasehold, Mr Pennycook set out a timeline for implementing reforms in the Tories’ Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act (LFRA), which just about made wash-up when Rishi Sunak called the July election, after being watered down by then housing secretary Michael Gove.

The LFRA promised to abolish leaseholds on new houses but not new flats, which make up 70% of the estimated 5 million leasehold properties in England.

It also aimed to give leaseholders more rights and protections, but Mr Pennycook said the act was “half baked” so there would be delays in implementing some of its measures.

Crucially, that includes rules around new valuations, which will be consulted on next summer, he said.

‘Endless cash cow continues’

The NLC called this “very disappointing” as the mechanism was designed to make it quicker and cheaper for people to buy their freehold or extend their lease “enabling them to sell their properties and move on with their lives”.

“Our main concern now is the fate of existing leaseholders who are currently suffering at the mercy of unregulated managing agents and unscrupulous freeholders,” it added.

“The government’s published intention to ‘act as quickly as possible’ will not be quick enough and we are already seeing the despair from some NLC members who are facing bankruptcy due to escalating service charges.

“Since 2018, leaseholders have heard time and time again from former government ministers that they will end the abuses but in reality nothing has changed for existing leaseholders. Using our homes as an endless cash cow continues and millions remain trapped.”

Some hospitals in England were within “six or seven hours” of running out of personal protective equipment in the early stages of the COVID pandemic, a former health secretary has admitted.

Matt Hancock, who is no longer an MP, told the COVID public inquiry that some hospitals came “extremely close” to running out of stock in the first wave of the pandemic in spring 2020.

Mr Hancock, who was health secretary between 2018 to 2021, was giving evidence at the latest session of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, looking at the impact the pandemic had on healthcare systems, patients and health care workers.

This morning he was booed by a protester as he arrived to give evidence at the inquiry.

Lead counsel to the inquiry Jacqueline Carey KC asked the ex-cabinet minister: “Do you accept that entering the coronavirus pandemic as we did, without a single gown, severely hampered the ability to provide safe and appropriate PPE for healthcare workers?”

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He replied: “The stockpile that we had was not as good as it needs to be in the future, absolutely.”

Pressed on whether England ever ran out of personal protective equipment (PPE), Mr Hancock said: “As a whole? No, but individual locations did.

Referring to the supply of gowns in April 2020 – in light of reports that some nurses at hospital in London had been forced to wear bin bags as protection – Mr Hancock said: “Gowns, I think, at one point, we got to within six or seven hours of running out.”

“We were working incredibly hard to make sure that we didn’t have a stock out. We nearly did.”

Mr Hancock was a familiar face at the regular press conferences that took place during the pandemic but was forced to resign in 2021 after he admitted breaking the government’s coronavirus guidance while pursuing an affair with an aide.

The inquiry, which has also heard other government figures including Boris Johnson and former prime minister Rishi Sunak, is examining the government’s response to the pandemic.

Mr Hancock also admitted during the inquiry session he believed the government “got wrong” the way funeral guidance was “applied” across the country during the pandemic.

During the early days of the COVID crisis, the number of people who could attend funerals was limited, with mourners told to keep two metres apart and only the closest relatives advised to attend.

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“Where I think we got it wrong was how the funeral guidance was applied on the ground. It wasn’t as had been intended,” he told the inquiry.

“But of course funerals were places where people gather and are deeply emotional, and people come together, and that was also the thing that was driving the spread of the virus.

“These were very difficult considerations.

“Broadly, on balance, I think they were about right, but we can go through every single decision, and you can easily make an argument one way or the other.”