I’ve heard plenty of criticisms about John Prescott but there is something about his style that appeals to me and plenty of examples of why in this sketch in the Guardian:
A brief stop outside Ernest Bevin’s old home, in a street of close-packed Bristol terraces, provokes a rumination on competing theories of socialism, and later Mr Prescott tells a crowd that New Labour’s programme has been essentially the same as Keir Hardie’s. “Except abstinence. We didn’t do that. We brought in 24-hour drinking instead, but never mind.”
…..He claims not to mind being portrayed as a figure of fun, but his tone of voice betrays him.
“A lot of them are arrogant snobs who went to public school,” he says. “They say ‘Ooh, you got your grammar wrong.’ Well, at my school they didn’t teach much grammar. I talk fast. You say one word instead of another. So bloody what? So bloody what?”
…..”Mr Howard does get up my nose. When he starts saying he’s going to help with council tax. Didn’t he give us the poll tax?
“I have one slogan for Mr Howard, to replace ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Do you remember what I remember?”