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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Rachel Cooke

Why it was such a joy to interview John Prescott and discover his sweet, sad soul

John Prescott receives a kiss from his wife, Pauline, after Labour’s 2001 general election victory
John Prescott and his wife, Pauline, celebrating after Labour’s 2001 general election victory. Photograph: Chris Harris/REX/Shutterstock

One of the bad things that comes with being a middle-aged interviewer, as opposed to a younger one, is the tendency to complain loudly that people in public life used to be so much less controlled, so much more wild and free and apt to say the wrong (the interesting) thing.

No one likes a nostalgist, after all. But in the case of politicians, I’m afraid there’s no getting away from it. In 2024, unbridled they aren’t. Every word is rehearsed. Even their sandwich fillings have been focus-grouped.

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