The son of Labour’s former deputy prime minister John Prescott has joined the Green Party, Sky News can reveal.
David Prescott, whose father served alongside Sir Tony Blair for 10 years, joined the Greens in October 2025, a year after his dad died.
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In a post on Facebook, Mr Prescott appears alongside Green activists in Gorton and Denton, which last week delivered the party’s first by-election victory in its history.
An accompanying caption read: “What. A. Day. Hope Beat Hate.”
‘John would be furious’
Karl Turner, who succeeded John Prescott as the Labour MP for Hull East in the 2010 general election, told Sky News the defection was “hugely disappointing” but “no surprise.”
“David was born into the Labour Party and like myself he was from a rock-solid socialist and trade union family,” he said.
“Again like myself, David was politically active from a very young age. David was always his own man not his old man.”
He added: “I suspect John Prescott would be furious if he was around today.
“But his anger would be aimed at the Labour Party for allowing progressive voters to leave Labour and go to what they see as a left-wing, more progressive alternative to the party he worked all of his adult life to elect into government, to change the lives of the many, not the few, for the better.”
The news comes after Labour suffered one of its worst by-election defeats in Gorton and Denton, coming third behind Reform and the Greens.
The result has confirmed fears within Labour that as well as facing the risk of losing votes to Reform on the right, the Green Party also poses a threat to its fracturing base of progressive voters, who have drifted from Labour over issues including its stance on the war in Gaza.
On Tuesday, the Green Party leapfrogged Labour into second place in a sensational poll by YouGov for Sky News.
The party is up four points to 21%, driven to a significant extent by the publicity from the Gorton and Denton by-election, the pollster said.
Who is David Prescott?
David Prescott, one of John’s two sons with his wife Pauline, previously ran to be a Labour candidate in a number of seats, including his father’s seat of East Hull, as well as Greenwich and Woolwich and Hull West and Hessle, but failed to get selected.
However, he was successful in his bid to be the Labour candidate for Gainsborough in the 2015 general election, but lost to Conservative MP Edward Leigh.
Mr Prescott was suspended from his role as an aide to Jeremy Corbyn in 2017 following allegations of harassment. He denied the claims and the party did not suspend his membership at the time as no formal complaint was lodged against him.
A Green Party source said: “David has not publicly spoken about joining the Greens out of respect to friends who are still Labour members, councillors, and MPs. But he was one of 2,000 people who came to Gorton and Denton to help get Hannah elected, and we thank him for his support.”
Read more from Sky News:
My run-in with John Prescott
Can Starmer find a way back?
‘Punch in the face for Labour’
In the aftermath of the by-election defeat, which has been masked by the escalating conflict in the Middle East kickstarted by US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, some Labour MPs have called on the prime minister to consider his position.
John Trickett, the Labour MP Normanton and Hemsworth, posted on X: “Labour lost votes in every direction and the same problem is replicated across the country. The result of bad political choices made by the PM. Labour needs new leadership.”
Another Labour MP told Sky News the result was a “punch in the face for the Labour Party and for Keir Starmer’s premiership” and argued in favour of a progressive alliance.
“This government has burned its base, alienated its core vote, sidelined its activists and stuck two fingers up to the very people we came into politics to represent. And we’re surprised voters are walking away?” they said.
“Stopping Reform now has to be the priority. But Labour can’t do that from a position of arrogance or denial. We will need to work with other progressive parties. That means cooperation. It means democratic reform. It means accepting we do not own the centre-left vote.
“None of that happens unless Labour changes fundamentally. Not tweaks. Not reshuffles. A clean break.”
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The prime minister admitted the Gorton and Denton performance had been “very disappointing” but said it was not uncommon for incumbent governments to lose by-elections and vowed to “keep fighting” for voters who elected him in the 2024 general election.
And in a message to his opponents in the Green Party and Reform, he added: “I will also fight against the extremes in politics on the right and on the left – parties who want to tear our country apart.”
The Labour Party declined to comment on Mr Prescott’s move.
