John Prescott: praised for helping Wigan post-mining industry collapse
Tributes have been paid in Wigan to former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, especially for the key role he played in reviving former coalfield communities decimated by pit closures in the 1980s.
The long-time Hull MP and side-kick to Tony Blair when he was in Number 10 and died last week aged 86, was instrumental in trying to breathe new life into towns and villages facing economic trauma in the aftermath of the mining industry’s collapse.
Wigan Council’s deputy leader Coun Keith Cunliffe, is National Chair of the Industrial Communities Alliance, which represents local authorities in the older industrial areas of England, Scotland and Wales.
He said: “John used to tell a story about how, just after the 1997 general election, he went to see the film Brassed Off about the pit closures and the dreadful impact on our communities.
"He came out of the cinema and said ‘somebody needs to do something to help these people’.
"Then he realised that, as the newly appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions, that somebody was him.
“Lots of good things flowed from that revelation. He went to the Durham Miners’ Gala the following week and said he intended to help.
"He set up a Coalfields Task Force, which led to a massive expansion in colliery site reclamation to provide space for new housing and new jobs, and he established and funded the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which to this day provides grants and support to community projects in former mining communities.
"He also help us secure new roads, business support and investment from the European Union.
“If life is a little better now in our communities, a big share of the credit goes to John Prescott. He was truly the patron saint of the former coalfields.”
Lord Prescott was a regular visitor to the borough, both in an official capacity and socially.
A close friend of former Makerfield MP Ian McCartney (Lord Prescott was best man at his wedding), he could be seen at Haigh Hall May Day rallies and once famously danced in front of the historic building with wife Pauline accompanied by the Red Rose Band.