A council motion calling for a statue of the late Lord Prescott has been defeated after being rejected Liberal Democrat councillors.
At July’s Hull City Council’s full council meeting held on Thursday, July 17, a motion calling for the former Deputy Prime Minister, who sadly passed away last November, to be commemorated in the form of a statue, was presented by independent councillor Julia Conner.
Cllr Conner, who recently left the Hull Liberal Democrats, paid tribute to the man who represented Hull East in Westminster for almost 40 years. She described Lord Prescott as “an imposing figure in the Labour Party and in Westminster. While not originally from Hull he was synonymous with our great city.”
“John’s presence and style certainly packed a punch,” Cllr Conner added.
Labour councillor Patrick Wilkinson, who seconded the motion, added: “Most people, when they think of Hull, will think of him and I think we should be marking that.”
The motion called for “the leader to use some of his capital budget to pay for a statue in East Hull.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Whilst agreeing with the sentiment regarding the impact Lord Prescott had on the city of Hull, leader of the council, Liberal Democrat Cllr Mike Ross said that a statue would likely cost “upwards of £150,000”, and added “in the current climate the public would rightfully ask whether it’s right for the council to be spending taxpayers money in this way.”
The council leader said that the former MP should be honoured, but stated: “For myself and our group it’s a question of the how, and we don’t believe that doing what this motion calls for in this manner is the right way of doing that so we cannot support the motion here today.”
The leader of the Hull Labour group Cllr Daren Hale said: “This is going to come across really mean and petty if some people in this chamber fail to support.”
Ultimately the motion got voted down with the Lord Mayor, Cllr Cheryl Payne, having the deciding vote.
In the aftermath of the vote, Karl Turner MP, who succeeded Lord Prescott as the MP for Hull East, described the Liberal Democrats’ decision as “shameful.”
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