John Prescott on the nationalisation of National Express

"Now all the staff are smiling"

Tale of the toilet seat.

John Prescott tries to explain the strange case of the toilet sear

I bought ONE toilet seat (and NEVER claimed for it) but because it was an old Victorian toilet and the seat was modern, it didn't fit properly. If you're really interested, the seat was a metric measurement, the toilet was imperial.
So in December 2004, a plumber charged £210.79 for repairs to soil pipework and leaking water taps in the toilet. Whilst he was repairing the old Victorian toilet, he also refitted the seat. In 2006 we had to get new taps in the bathroom. But whilst the plumber was there, he refixed the same seat as it kept getting loose. The total repair bill, which was mostly for the bathroom work, was £112.52.
In fact it never really solved the problem. So I finally I chose to completely refurbish the bathroom and the toilets. All paid for by myself, without a penny charged back to the taxpayer.

And on the subject of Daniel Hannan

John Prescott has fisked his reply to the ex deputy minister's You Tube attack om his anti NHS sentiments on American television.

You can read the whole thing at Labour List but here is a taster

"Prescott is trying to fabricate a row out of my interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, in which I warned Americans against adopting a socialist healthcare system along British lines. You can watch the old bruiser here. (If you're an American who likes to imagine that the British are eloquent, please ignore that last hyperlink.)"

Fabricate a row? Describing the NHS as a "60 year mistake" and responsible for making people "iller" gave me a legitimate reason to question you. And your book The Plan gives me cause for even greater concern. You say you want to "allow patients to opt out of the NHS and instead pay their contributions into individual health accounts". Sounds like you want to follow the US model of personal health insurance just as they're trying to follow our system!

John Prescott's reaction to Guacamolegate

Ht-Radio 4 PM Blog

When the boot is on the other foot

Many will of heard or heard of John Prescott's ramblings on the Today programme this morning regarding Sir Fred's pension.

Essentially the former deputy PM said that the government should take it back off him and dare him to sue.

Well Guido has kindly reminded us of when the boot was on the other foot.

When he was sacked as Deputy PM, for generally being an embarrassing incompetent, he kept hold of his pension perks - including additional pension contributions from taxpayers even though he wasn't working for them. Blair even let him keep two grace-and-favour homes, while stripping him of his departmental responsibilities. At the time opposition politicians railed at Prezza's "rewards for failure".

Prescott responds to accusations that he is not writing his blog

Ht-Recess Monkey

Carry on John

I do take my hat off to John Prescott who despite his lack of articulation on the front benches of the House of Commons has taken to blogging like a duck takes to water.

You can read his blog here but as a taster here is an extract from yesterday

Thanks for leaving your comments - I read them all last night in my hotel room in Strasbourg with my McDonalds.
To the conservative bloggers, thanks for posting. I don't care if you're a 'troll' - as long as your polite I'm prepared to listen and engage with everyone.

Before going on to list Labour's 50 best achievements which includes at No 50 free fruit for all 4-6 year olds and then continues

To the person who keeps Facebooking me about foxhunting and why they'd like to see it back - let me say this. I deplore hunting and the culture that surrounds around it.

Prescott back on the podium

It looks like Prezza's on the warpath again.

Fisrt of all he accuses the Today programme of depressing its listeners and then turns on private schools and the educational background of Evan Davis and Ed Stourton.

He is doing the rounds of the TV studios as his programme the class system and me hits the airways tonight

By all accounts it should be a good programme,the BBC blurb says that

John meets people at the top, middle and bottom of the ladder and tries to work out where he fits in to this brave new world of class. He meets the chattering classes at Hay on Wye and rubs shoulders with the upwardly mobile at Henley Regatta. From lords and ladies to chavs and pikeys, John realises things aren't quite what they once were.

Davies reveals all( well some) of John Prescott

Hunter Davies,if you did not know,ghost wrote John Prescott's autobiography and in this week's addition of the New Statesman he describes tthe six months which he spent attached the man himself.

On the first evening, we had dinner at our local pub, the Kirkstile Inn. I
ordered two glasses of beer from Roger mine host, showing off that I knew he
made his own excellent brew. I drank mine. John didn't. Not to his taste,
perhaps. With the meal, Pauline and I got through a bottle between us, but John
had none. Funny, that. Must not be feeling so well.
All week, we had lots of
meals together, which he tucked into with relish, and any other con diments to
hand, but he drank only water or Coke. It turns out he doesn't drink.

And according to Hunter Davies,Prescott was never interested in the money for the deal

in fact all year, when the subject of his finances came up, such as asking him what he paid for his house in Hull, he didn't seem to know. Yet he now needed to make some money, his sons, Johnathan and David, told me, for a deposit on somewhere to live in London

But most interestingly

The bulimia story came out by chance - in the sense that I don't think he had really intended to tell me about it. I had finished the bulk of the book: gone through every year, every big event, in order, got the scaffolding up

Another Sunday,another set of bad headlines for Brown

It is almost becoming boring now when you open the Sunday papers and see the lastest bad news for the government.

The Mail on Sunday kicks off with a poll at Crewe and Nantwich which suggests

The Tories are poised to achieve their first parliamentary by-election gain since the heyday of Margaret Thatcher, dealing a hammer blow to Gordon Brown's hopes of survival.
That is the remarkable finding of the first opinion poll conducted in the Labour stronghold of Crewe, where a by-election to be held in 11 days' time could seal the Prime Minister's fate.
The ICM survey for The Mail on Sunday puts the Tories on 43 per cent with Labour trailing on 39 – a dramatic ten per cent swing in the Cheshire constituency since the last General Election.

The Observer follows with its unique survey which says

Gordon Brown has suffered a devastating collapse in his public standing, according to a new survey published in The Observer today which will put his leadership under intensified pressure.
As the Prime Minister begins his fightback with new proposals entitling mothers to more flexible working hours, the research shows that only one in five voters thinks he is doing a good job. He is rated worse than David Cameron on every key leadership quality, including competence, decisiveness, fairness, likeability, trustworthiness and strength.

And more revelations in the Times this time from John Prescott's forthcoming autobiography which says

he urged Tony Blair to sack Gordon Brown at the height of their frequent rows – but the former prime minister was “scared” of his chancellor.
He says he also urged Brown to resign and fight Blair from the back benches, but Brown, then chancellor, shrank from such a bold gamble.

As well as a report from Stephen Byers who

accuses the prime minister of being “distant and uncaring” and manipulating the tax system for “tactical advantage”.

and says

The electoral clock is ticking for Gordon Brown. The next few months will be make-or-break time.” Byers criticises Brown for abolishing the 10p income tax band which has hit 5.3m low-paid workers and urges him to carry out a “fundamental rethink” of taxation policy, leaving “no area off limits

How the world percieves us,bulimia,sex and bebo

Via Comment Central

The New York Times attempts to sum up British politics

Sex Addiction, Bulimia and Bebo says the paper citing

1. John Prescott as the first example
2. Lord Laidlaw as the second and
3. the daughter of John Whittingdale as the third

I must admit that I have missed the third story but apparently according to BBC online

A Conservative MP has been told his own 12-year-old daughter has broken a social networking site's rules, during an inquiry into internet safety.
It dawned on John Whittingdale that there might be a problem when Bebo safety chief Rachel O'Connell told him the site operated an "over 13s" policy.

Polititians under pressure

Two stories in the papers this morning that show the pressure that polititians are under in this 24/7 media age.

John Prescott,whose autobiography is to be serialised in the Sunday Times reveals that he has suffered from bulima for 17 years

“People normally associate it with young women - anorexic girls, models trying to keep their weight down, or women in stressful situations, like Princess Diana.
“I could sup a whole tin of Carnation condensed milk, just for the taste, stupid things like that. Marks & Spencer trifles, I still love them, one of my favourites. I can eat them for ever. Whenever I go to Mr Chu’s in Hull, my favourite Chinese restaurant in the whole world . . . I could eat my way through the entire menu.”

Meanwhile defense secretary Des Browne has taken a week off apparently after a mauling on the Today programme