Newspaper & Mailroom

Former Deputy Prime Minister Joins Sunday Mirror

Monday 07. January 2013 - Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is joining the Sunday Mirror as a hard-hitting columnist who will pull no punches.

The lifelong Mirror reader represented Hull East as Labour MP from 1970 until he stood down from the House of Commons in 2010. Soon after his retirement as an MP he was made a life peer and entered the House of Lords.
John Prescott said: “I know the power of good, campaigning journalism. Pauline and I have read the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror for decades so I’m honoured to be given the chance to talk with the readers every week.
“I want to use the column to talk to people of all ages and be their voice on the issues that matter. I want them to tell me what they’re passionate about, what makes them angry. What are their priorities?
“I might put a few backs up, but after 40 years in politics I like think people know I tell it like it is – even among the Tories.”
The new Sunday Mirror columnist wants readers to send in comments and suggest story ideas by email or tweeting him at @johnprescott. The former Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) has more than 165,000 followers on Twitter and last year beat Louise Mensch to become Politics Home’s Political Tweeter of the Year.
Throughout his career Prescott served in several shadow cabinet positions and in 1994 he was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
Following Labour’s landslide win at the 1997 general election Prescott was made Deputy Prime Minister, a position he held for ten years, making him Britain’s longest serving DPM. He was also responsible for transport, environment and the regions, brokered the Kyoto Protocol – the first global climate change treaty – and stood in for Tony Blair in running the country when the Prime Minister was away.
Lloyd Embley, editor-in-chief of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror, said: “John is a colourful character who has been right at the heart of British politics for over 40 years.
“Importantly, he is a Mirror man through and through so his political insight and sensitivity coupled with his no nonsense approach will resonate well with our readers.”
John Prescott’s column starts this Sunday.