Have I Got Prescott For You

I've now had a chance to catch up with this week's Have I Got News For You, chaired by none other than John Prescott. It was an interesting time.

As debuts go, Prescott was somewhere in the middle. He wasn't on relentless fire like BRIAN BLESSED (though can anyone match up to BRIAN BLESSED?) but equally he didn't fall totally flat like Neil Kinnock. There is no end of obvious jibes to make at Prescott's expense and yet he managed to come through them all well, even making a few of them himself, and also managed to take the fight back to Ian Hislop. A host who can generate so much material is always a delight and there has to be return performance. (Would he be the first actual member of the House of Lords to do so?)

But just one suggestion - to keep up the impression the show is spontaneous and recorded in order, don't have the glasses appearing and disappearing in different shots.

Arise Baron Thumper

John Prescott is to be made a Lord in the Dissolution Honours List. So in honour of this, here's one of his most famous moments:
Bizarrely years before this moment he was nicknamed "Thumper".

Another Liberal Democrat (deputy) leadership election

Thanks to Vincent Cable, the political world gets to enjoy yet another Liberal Democrat (deputy) leadership election. The wider world is, I'm sure, equally fascinated - remember John Prescott's comments last time?

First, let me welcome the hon. Gentleman to his role as acting deputy leader. We all know that the election will take place after today, and I wish him well. The matter is riveting the nation's attention—in fact, on my visit to Hull last weekend they talked of nothing else in the pubs.

(Hansard)

Cable has said he's standing down from the post purely because of the time commitments, but it's also notable that as the position is elected by the MPs it is the nearest to an equivalent of the Conservative Chair of the 1922 Committee or the Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party and thus the best way Liberal Democrat MPs can represent their views to the leadership. And it's hard to do that when the post is held by a Cabinet Minister. So could the new deputy be someone outside the government - maybe this is finally the moment for Simon Hughes? Alternatively the post might offer the chance for a big name to make a comeback - would it be beneath Charles Kennedy or Sir Menzies Campbell to stand?

The election will take place on June 9th so for the moment it could be the most interesting show in town. Anyone care to predict the dark horse candidate?

Harriet Harman's rubbish memory

I'm just watching Prime Minister's Questions and Harriet Harman has attacked the Conservatives for having questions asked by the Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet not the Shadow Leader of the House.

If Harriet Harman cares to remember when Labour were last in opposition (perhaps not given how pilloried she was by her own side), she will recall that when Tony Blair didn't do Prime Minister's Questions, it wasn't Ann Taylor but John Prescott who stood in for him. Was Harriet Harman complaining then? Or is she so incompetent she thinks the world began in May 1997?

Bring back John Prescott!

Goodbye John Prescott

John Prescott is also retiring. (BBC News: Prescott to quit as deputy leader) So we may never again enjoy the wonderful spectacle of him standing in at Prime Minister's Questions. Or his appearances in the media. His dance on the front pages last summer truly gave hope to ugly people like myself. But Prescott has been a surprising comeback kid throughout the last ten years, often being seemingly written off for good only to survive another day. And who can ever forget when he purchased a pet crab and named it after Peter Mandelson?

So Canadians have a sense of irony

Aren't Canadians wonderful people? They live in a country that has almost all the good things and very few of the bad things that their neighbour has. They're great to get on with (two years ago I shared a flat with a Canadian). Their country is simply beautiful (especially in the Yukon). And it seems that they beat the Americans hand down when it comes to a sense of irony. Iain Dale blogs about John Prescott's visit to Toronto where he was announced as the UK's "Vice Prime Minister".

John Prescott is not irreplaceable

Both nicola and Iain Dale have commented on the big story today that Alan Johnson is "interested" in becoming Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. The none too subtle message is that "John Prescott can be completely replaced". Given that Prescott has demonstrated a complete inability to extract himself from newspaper frontpages over the last month it's not surprising that many are writing him off for good.

Assuming that whoever succeeds Prescott as Deputy Leader becomes Deputy Prime Minister as well, I have to say I'd prefer Johnson over Prescott continuing or for that matter Harriet "who actually is the Prime Minister?" Harman (though frankly it's clear even she doesn't see herself as a serious contender in a competitive field). A few years ago I met Johnson when he was Minister for Higher Education and he proved to be one of the best Labour ministers I've met. The country would be safer in his hands in Tony Blair's absence than it is in Prescott's.

So just what is John Prescott for?

Over on BBC News, Nick Assinder asks "What is John Prescott for?" Does anyone truly know? Assinder is far from the first to suggest that if Prescott resigns from the government it may cause a tidal wave in the Labour Party that would make it impossible for Tony Blair to stay.

Would that be such a bad thing? Cherie would find it harder to milk her non-position for money but for everyone else, Blair's loss would be the nation's gain.

"Home Pride" Prescott

A politician's private life should remain their private life. But when they seek to utilise their home life for political benefit then the media have a right to expose hypocrisy.

In Hull a Labour leaflet has gone out showing John and Pauline Prescott together under the heading "Home Pride":

Labour councillor Phil Webster said a copy dropped through his letterbox, alongside the election leaflet of his colleague Peter Clark, who is standing for election in the Ings ward next week.
He said: "My exact words were unprintable - I think it's an ill-timed leaflet and I think a lot of people will say 'hypocritical' and bin it."

Once again Prescott tries to both have his cake and eat it. Let's remind ourselves of John Prescott's speech from a decade ago:

They are up to their necks in sleaze. The best slogan he could think up for their conference next week is Life's better under the Tories. Sounds to me like one of Steven Norris's chat up lines. Can you believe that this lot is in charge? Not for long, eh? Then after 17 years of this Tory government, they have the audacity to talk about morality. Did you hear John Major on the Today programme? - calling for ethics to come back into the political debate? I'm told some Tory MPs think ethics is a county near Middlesex. It's a bit hard to take: John Major - ethics man. The Tories have redefined unemployment they have redefined poverty. Now they want to redefine morality. For too many Tories, morality means not getting caught. Morality is measured in more than just money. It's about right and wrong. We are a party of principle. We will earn the trust of the British people. We've had enough lies. Enough sleaze.

Forty Eight hours to save John Prescott's career?

Iain Dale has an interesting post suggesting that there's more to come on John Prescott and that he will be out of office by the end of the weekend. One has to wonder if there'll be anyone left for Blair to make the scapegoat for Labour's results on Thursday.

Also an anonymous poster has left the following interesting comment:

A rule change to the Labour Party Constitution in 94 also rendered the Deputy Leader redundant if something happened to the PM. The rule change that year stipulated that should the leader become unavailable while the party is in office, (I paraphrase), 'the Cabinet, meeting in consultation with the NEC, shall elect one of its number'. So Brown or Straw.

As for who stands in for Blair at PMQs while he's abroad, there's nothing to stop a reversion to the old system, where the Leader of the House stands in.

I can only recall one appearance of Geoff Hoon at PMQs before and he got into a mess so I can't see anyone rushing to make him the regular substitute for Tony Blair!

So John Prescott is not at all "a heartbeat from the premiership". This can only relieve the country!

Why ministers should be on top of their departments

No I don't want to talk about the details of John Prescott's appearance in the news today. It's clearly an attempt to bury bad news - though given the way that neither Prescott nor Charles Clarke have escaped it does suggest that even the Not So Very New Labour spin doctors are no longer as effective as they once were. Is no-one in the Labour Party performing properly?

More concerning is the fate of Charles Clarke. Yesterday he offered to resign if it was necessary. Today yet more revelations have led to those who previously did not want his resignation to call for it. At Prime Minister's Questions today it took only a glance at the government front bench to see how isolated Clarke is and Blair was visibly not comfortable defending his Home Secretary. He didn't even hang around in the Commons when Clarke gave a statement in the Commons immediately afterwards and instead gave a pathetic excuse for being elsewhere. Since Clarke's resignation offer was turned down, one has to wonder why Blair is keeping him in the post.

Two thoughts spring to mind. First off Clarke is an increasing rarity in the Cabinet - a heavyweight Blairite. Blairites have repeatedly proved to be the weakspot of the Cabinet - just look at resignations such as David Blunkett (twice), Peter Mandelson (twice), Stephen Byers and so forth. With Patricia Hewitt also under heavy fire over the poor handling of deficits in the National Health Service Blair must be fearing ever more isolation in his final days if he's forced to lose another of his supporters.

But there's also a tactical possibiliy. Labour is expecting to do badly in the local elections and many expect renewed calls for Tony Blair to resign after them. Keeping Clarke on until after polling day would allow him to take the flack for Labour's pasting and then his resignation could be accepted whilst Blair carries on.

Meanwhile the Home Office remains a mess and more criminals are on the street and the public is not reassured. What's more important - shoring up Tony Blair's position or having ministers who are on top of their departments?