Prescott on Class
Friday, July 11th, 2008Two Jags on 2
Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is to front a documentary on the British class system, the BBC has announced. The programme, to be aired on BBC 2 in the autumn, will see him explore the “dreams and aspirations of the richest and poorest” and grapple with issues such as political apathy, middle-class snobbery and the wealth gap in modern Britain.
Prescott will also highlight the prejudice he believes he has suffered as a politician, which he attributes to his working-class roots. A BBC spokesperson said: “He feels he has not been treated, because of his background as fairly as he should have. He is hurt by that and still very defined by his class.”
This includes mockery from Tory MP Nicholas Soames who used to yell to him “waiter!” in the Commons tearoom. Producers say the programme will give “intimate access to John and his wife Pauline”, and that “nothing will be out of bounds”, prompting speculation that Prescott’s affair with secretary Tracey Temple will be discussed on the show.
Mrs Prescott, who has been described by journalists as a “very private woman” actually comes across as quite “feisty.”
In the trailer Prescott says “If you are born working class - you are working class.” He addresses the issue of “Tory toffs” and claims that private schools are still “pushing them out to Oxford” and that an officer class still exists.
However, not all viewers will take to his black and white stance kindly. Prescott has attracted criticism in the past for making much of his working-class background, yet living a life of luxury. He has been dubbed “two-jags Prescott” for owning two luxury cars, and also came under criticism for keeping his grace and favour mansion, Dorneywood having been stripped of his department after his affair with Ms Temple.
The BBC has said that Prescott - a former trade unionist from Yorkshire who came to study economics at Oxford - will explore the contradictions in his life. “How can I walk on a stage with thousands of people and address them, and yet not be able to walk into a restaurant… You talk to my friends. It’s got to be booked, and I’ll come in when they’ve sat down,” he revealed to Esquire this month.
Prescott On Class is due to arrive on BBC2 this autumn.
July 12th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
John Prescott should be in jail for fraud and abuse of power in relation to the rigged formal inquiry into the sinking of the trawler Gaul and other dirty affairs.
Cheating 90 percent of the families of the dead trawlermen tells you all you need to know about this scumbag who managed to clamber to high office and the class of people he really belongs to.
July 16th, 2008 at 8:21 am
There’s nothing about the trawler Gaul on the John Prescott Wikipedia entry. If it’s not on Wikipedia then it can’t be true!