In the many obituaries for the late John Prescott, his accomplishments in the field of climate change have been given great prominence; alongside his instrumental role as a “binding agent” for the Labour Party. These were important legacies and his perseverance in Kyoto was legendary.

But little has been written about his incredible impact on the built environment.  From 1997 he served as secretary of state for transport, the environment, local government and the regions. After a brief hiatus, he returned to the office of the  deputy prime minister in 2002, covering planning, housing and local government.