Angela Rayner sought inspiration from John Prescott's rise to the near top of the Labour Party and the country.

The BBC's political editor for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, Tim Iredale, described Prescott as a "man of the people". Karl Turner, the Labour MP for East Hull, said his contribution to public life will never be forgotten.

Here are key facts about John Prescott, Britain's combative former deputy prime minister, who has died after a battle with Alzheimer's disease, his family said on Thursday:

He was a cruise ship waiter before rising in the trade union movement and becoming one of the country’s best-known Labour politicians under Tony Blair.

That's just one of the reasons Prescott is often compared to the current deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, noted The Guardian. They were both brought up working class, became Labour MPs after working in the trade union movement, and were "frequently patronised or demonised by Tories and the media, partly on the grounds of class snobbery".

Britain's former deputy prime minister John Prescott, who served under Tony Blair and with him helped transform the country's Labour party, has died aged 86, his family said on Thursday.

John Prescott, Britain’s former Deputy Prime Minister under Tony Blair and a key figure in transforming the Labour Party, has died at the age of 86, his family announced on Thursday. “We are deeply saddened to inform you that our beloved husband,

"Oh my God!" I thought when John Prescott famously jabbed his left hook at a man who'd thrown an egg at him in the 2001 general election campaign. "Good for him!" many of my constituents in the former mining communities of Neath,