Lord Prescott was a former University of Hull Economic History student, who graduated in 1968. He remained a great friend of the institution throughout his lifetime.
He went on to be elected as the Member of Parliament for Hull East in 1970 and remained in the seat for 40 years. In 2013 he received an honorary DSc (Econ) from the University.
In 1997 he became Deputy Prime Minister, and it was in this role that Lord Prescott demonstrated a commitment to environmental change. In the same year he was instrumental in delivering the Kyoto Protocol, which aimed to cut global carbon emissions.
In later years, he continued this work with the University, working with our academic community within our Energy and Environment Institute to develop an “estuarial model” to slash carbon emissions in communities located close to estuaries around the world. He presented this at COP24 in Poland, and it was endorsed by the UN.
He joined a delegation from the University of Hull, in 2021, at COP26, in Glasgow and gave delegates a clear message: “If you want to see the Green Industrial Revolution in action, my message to world leaders is go to Hull and back.”
He was an active ambassador for the University’s Logistics Institute between 2017 and 2021. His support for the Logistics Institute, and specifically the LHOFT (Liverpool-Humber Optimisation of Freight Transport) project helped the University to gain high levels of visibility and support for its work and contributed to shaping the vision for logistics in the North.
His work to promote the Humber as the “energy estuary” is more relevant now than ever.
Lord Prescott was a staunch advocate of the City of Hull and the wider Humber region. Having served as one of the city’s MPs since 1970, he was a well-known and respected figure. He was witty, warm and generous – insightful and smart but always grounded and approachable.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hull Professor Dave Petley said: “Lord Prescott has been a wonderful ambassador for the University of Hull, our city and region. It was the University that brought him to the city as an undergraduate and the connection he made as a student remained throughout his lifetime. He was a supporter and friend in many of our pursuits, but the cause closest to his heart was climate change.
"Lord Prescott’s climate work aligns with, and helped to shape, the University’s vision and commitments in this area. He worked with our Aura Innovation Centre to advance the work he began as Deputy Prime Minister to reduce carbon emissions. He championed progress and we feel proud to have worked side by side with him to advocate for this region. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”