John Prescott - Life After Government

Life After Government

Following his resignation, it was announced that he would take over from Tony Lloyd as the lead UK Representative in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The post is unpaid, but has an expenses allowance and allows him to sit on the Assembly of Western European Union. In a jocular response to the appointment, Shadow Europe Minister Mark Francois wished the translators good luck.

On 27 August 2007, Prescott stated that he would stand down as an MP at the next general election, after which he was offered a Peerage. He has also engaged in the campaign against slave labour, which he intends to make a key issue in his work at the Council. Prescott is a director of Super League rugby league club Hull Kingston Rovers, who are based in his former constituency of Hull East.

His autobiography, Prezza, My Story: Pulling no Punches ghostwritten by Hunter Davies, was published on 29 May 2008.

In June 2008, he made a cameo appearance, playing a policeman, in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Robert Tressell's The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. In 2009, he made a brief cameo appearance as himself in the final episode of the BBC Three comedy series Gavin and Stacey (this referred to a running joke in the show regarding a relationship the character Nessa had years ago with Prescott.)

In October and November 2008 he was the subject of a two-part documentary, "Prescott: the Class System and Me", on BBC Two, looking at the class system in Britain, and asking whether it still exists. In October 2009, he was featured in another BBC Two documentary, Prescott: The North/South Divide, where Prescott and his wife Pauline explored the current state of the North-South Divide from their perspective as Northern Englanders long used to living in the south of the country.

During the 2010 election campaign, Prescott toured the UK in a customised white transit van dubbed his "Battlebus" canvassing support for the Labour Party. Prescott was publicly very supportive of Gordon Brown, and has called him a "global giant".

Prescott has stated in interviews that he is not religious. He chose to make a non-religious solemn affirmation rather than swearing an oath during his introduction in the House of Lords.

Beginning on 7 January 2011, John Prescott appeared in a TV advert for insurance company moneysupermarket.com, along with comedian Omid Djalili, which gently mocks events in his political career.

On 27 February 2011, Prescott appeared on the BBC's Top Gear as the "Star in the Reasonably Priced Car", where he set a lap time of 1.56.7. It is the slowest time in the new car. He also engaged in spirited discussion with host Jeremy Clarkson regarding his time in Government.

To raise awareness of Red Nose Day 2011, a charity event organised by Comic Relief, Prescott delivered the area forecasts of the 0048 Shipping Forecast on Saturday 19 March 2011. The format then reverted to the BBC continuity announcer Alice Arnold for the reports on coastal areas. On delivering the area forecast for Humber, Prescott (who had represented the parliamentary constituency of Hull East for almost 40 years before retiring) slipped deliberately into his distinctive Humberside accent, saying “'Umber, without the 'H', as we say it up there”.