But today his battle bus rolled into Rhyl where Mr Prescott again showed the character and humour that I’m sure all parties admire (some less publicly than others of course).
Nine year ago, on 16th May 2001, this quiet little town in Northern Wales was where Mr Prescott stole the headlines away from his party leader Tony Blair’s manifesto announcement when he punched a protester in the crowd who had hit the MP with an egg.
Today, he made a point of returning to the exact location, and posed with a boxing glove in this left hand and another sort of egg in his right hand – a creme egg.
Born just down the road in Prestatyn, Mr Prescott addressed a crowd of Labour Party members and locals outside the theatre and after being reminded of the exact location where he threw the punch, near the theatre wall, he said: “I thought it was around the corner. It’s come back to me now, they’d closed off this whole street. That was the wall I was pushed against. There were people standing on there.”
While he posed for pictures wearing a boxing glove and holding a chocolate egg, Mr Prescott added: “Where’s the Tories, bring ‘em on.”
But that wasn’t all: dubbed the ‘Prescott Express’, his bus pulled up at the scene to the sound of the theme tune from Rocky, and a loudspeaker proclaiming: “Make Way for Rocky”.
Before leaving there was time for one more comedy jab: “as I told Tony [Blair] at the time I was only doing what I'd been asked to do – connecting with the electorate." Literally.
Mr Prescott announced in 2007 that he would not seek re-election as so will not contest the seat or be an MP in the next government. His jovial character will be missed by all.
