Latest news with #JohnPrescott
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Angela Rayner ordered two beds costing £7k for her grace-and-favour Government flat
ordered two beds costing nearly £7,000 for her grace-and-favour Government flat, it emerged yesterday. The Deputy Prime Minister bought them in January, and they were installed on Valentine's Day. Ms Rayner lives in Winston Churchill's old Westminster home, Admiralty House, which was originally built to house the First Lord of the Admiralty. The previous resident was Michael Gove, the former housing secretary, and Ms Rayner moved into the property in December last year. At the time, a source close to Ms Rayner told the Mirror: 'It's become increasingly unsustainable not to have a government base in London now she's the Deputy Prime Minister.' Admiralty House is also where the last Labour deputy prime minister, John Prescott, lived. He became known as 'Two Jags' thanks to his two Jaguar cars. Admiralty House was built in the 18th century at the request of Viscount Howe, Admiral of the Fleet. It is one of several 'grace and favour' ministerial residences offered to Cabinet members – meaning Ms Rayner can stay there rent-free. The house has been divided into function rooms and three ministerial flats. And government-owned properties in the building were furnished with two new beds 'to replace end of life existing beds', according to Freedom of Information requests by the Guido Fawkes website. This cost £5,132.44 plus 20 per cent VAT with an additional bill of £498.14 plus 20 per cent VAT for installation – a total of £6,756.70 or £3,378.35 per bed. A Tory source said: 'First we had John 'Two Jags' Prescott and now we have Angela 'Two Beds' Rayner. A woman of the people she is not.' Last year, Ms Rayner was cleared by HMRC over the sale of her former council house in Stockport following a row about whether she owed capital gains tax. A Government spokesman said: 'One of the flats in Admiralty House is allocated to the Deputy Prime Minister in her official capacity. 'The maintenance of Admiralty House, including the replacement of end-of-life beds, is managed and administered by the Government Property Agency.' Sources said that the beds had been replaced as a matter of course to maintain the property.
BBC News
19-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Lord Prescott statue refusal is 'terribly disappointing', says Hull MP
A Labour MP has said it is "terribly disappointing" that plans for a memorial statue in Hull to honour the late Lord John Prescott has been refused by the city Turner, Lord Prescott's successor in the Hull East seat, said he will sign a petition by Hull's Labour councillors that demands the Lib Dem-controlled council reverse their former deputy prime minister, deputy Labour leader, and member of the House of Lords died on 20 November last for a memorial statue in the city were rejected at a meeting on Thursday, following concerns about funding. Councillor Julia Conner raised the motion for the statue, but the plans were rejected after a 26-26 tied vote. Lord Mayor Cheryl Payne cast the deciding said: "The money was going to be a tiny amount of money from the leader's fund, probably £1,000 would have done it. The rest of the money would have come in from donations and good will gestures and charitable giving from members of the public."He added: "I've got businesses who are prepared to put fairly substantial amounts of money in because they think to have a tribute to John Prescott is worth having in this city."John was a legend, always banging the drum for Hull."Council leader Mike Ross had voted against the motion and said such a statue would cost "upward of £150,000". He had questioned whether the public would feel it was "right to spend taxpayers' money on this proposal".Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
City council REFUSES proposal to build a memorial statue to the late former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in his hometown
A proposed memorial statue of former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in his adopted home city of Hull has been rejected. Councillors were torn over the idea, with their votes tied 26-26, but the Lord Mayor, Cheryl Payne, defeated the motion with her casting vote. Council leader Mike Ross voted against the idea and said the statue would likely cost at least £150,000. He questioned whether the people of Hull would think it was acceptable to spend that much of taxpayers' money on the statue. However, Cllr Ross added: 'That's not to say John Prescott should not be commemorated. The question is how.' Councillor Julia Conner, who raised the motion proposing the statue, argued it would be a mark of respect for 'a working class lad who made his way to the top of politics, and who made his mark on the city and the world'. Referencing Lord Prescott hitting a protester who threw an egg at him during the 2001 general election campaign, she added: 'He was a character. John's presence and style certainly packed a punch' Labour stalwart Lord Prescott, who died in November aged 86, was MP for Hull East from 1970 to 2010 - a span of 40 years. He was deputy leader of the Labour party from 1994 to 2007 and deputy Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007. He died in November aged 86. Lord Prescott was Tony Blair's political bruiser and battering ram - the pugnacious bridge between New and old Labour who could down a pint in five seconds and was always up for a fight. The son of a railwayman and a servant from north Wales, Lord Prescott was a fine boxer as a boy after moving to Yorkshire. Later in life, he became used to the finer things in life, enjoying croquet on the lawn of his country house at a time when he was in charge of the country.
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Hull City Council refuses statue of Labour 'giant' John Prescott
A memorial statue to honour politician and Labour Party "giant" Lord John Prescott has been refused at a full meeting of Hull City Council. The former deputy prime minister, deputy Labour leader, MP for Hull East and member of the House of Lords died on 20 November last was 86 years old and had been in a care home, living with Alzheimer's was first elected as MP for Hull East in 1970 and and was one of the city's longest-serving MPs, holding the seat for 40 years. Councillor Julia Conner raised the motion for the statue on Thursday. Concerns were raised about funding and the plans were rejected after a 26-26 tied vote. Lord Mayor Cheryl Payne cast the deciding vote. Funding had been requested from the council leader's capital budget, and for the statue to be placed in Prescott's former constituency. Council leader Mike Ross voted against the motion and said such a statue would cost "upward of £150,000". He questioned whether the public would feel it was "right to spend taxpayers' money on this proposal".Ross added: "That's not to say that John Prescott should not be commemorated... the question is how." 'Packed a punch' Conner said the statue would be a "typical Hull mark of respect for a working-class lad who made his way to the top of the politics, and who made his mark on the city and the world."He was a character... John's presence and style certainly packed a punch."Prescott was deputy leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007 and deputy prime minister from 1997 to is remembered by many for punching a protester who threw an egg at him during the 2001 general election campaign. 'Working-class hero' Following Prescott's death, tributes were paid by former prime ministers. Sir Tony Blair said there was "no one quite like him in British politics". Gordon Brown called him a "working-class hero" and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed him a "true giant" of the Labour movement. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Click here to download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and here to download the BBC News app from Google Play for Android devices.
Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Angela Rayner's new deputy PM office inspired by John Prescott
Angela Rayner will model her new office of the deputy prime minister on that of John Prescott. Rayner is expected to set up her power base a year after Labour entered government, including 30 staff, a new logo and an email address. The Times understands it will take inspiration from Prescott, the last Labour deputy prime minister, and will also draw lessons from Nick Clegg's time in the role. Sources close to Rayner, who has her own mandate through being elected as deputy Labour leader by party members, pointed to Prescott's aim of 'creating sustainable communities' through his office, suggesting it was a key priority that she would emulate. They suggested she would be taking direction from a 2005 document that read: 'The aim of the office of the deputy prime minister is 'creating sustainable communities'.' Whether Rayner would be granted a separate office from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, for which she is secretary of state, has been unclear since Labour took power. In the run-up to the election, there was a plan to give Rayner, who previously described herself as 'John Prescott in a skirt', a fully fledged office for deputy prime minister in the Cabinet Office, with a dedicated team and a cross-Whitehall brief. When that failed to materialise, Sue Gray, the prime minister's then chief of staff, was blamed for blocking the long-standing plans that, it was thought, would co-ordinate Rayner's work across Whitehall. The claim was denied by No 10. The Times reported in January that while plans for a formal office had been shelved, discussions had resumed about a move to No 9 Downing Street. The political blog Guido Fawkes reported on Tuesday that the new office would be announced next week, including room in the Cabinet Office for about 30 staff, a new logo and staff emails using the domain @ A source close to Rayner pointed out that Prescott's official office for the deputy prime minister was not formed until 2002, a year after the 2001 Labour victory. • Angela Rayner: 'Whatever I achieve, people still say I'm thick' They highlighted a description of Prescott's office that put focus on 'sustainable communities', described as being 'about things that matter to people: decent homes at prices people can afford; good public transport, schools, hospitals and shops; people able to have a say on the way their neighbourhood is run; and a clean, safe environment'. It said: 'The role of the office of the deputy prime minister is to help create sustainable communities, working with other government departments, local councils, businesses, the voluntary sector and communities themselves.' The office will be seen by some as Rayner consolidating her power as Sir Keir Starmer's authority has been thrown into question by a series of U-turns. Rayner is seen as a frontrunner to replace Starmer despite having ruled out a leadership challenge.
