Sean Lawless
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seanlawless.bsky.social
Sean Lawless
@seanlawless.bsky.social
120 followers 320 following 5 posts
Relatively new dad, long suffering Chelsea fan, Tooting based, Roehampton born, enjoys cooking, dislikes cheese, sometimes seen walking Yoshi (the dog) and Labour Councillor for Tooting Broadway.
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seanlawless.bsky.social
Seen lots of fascinating anecdotes about John Prescott, but this one, from my Council colleague Cllr Tony Belton, tops them all!
Prezza, aka John Prescott, died on 21st November, and with him, some people argue, an old-style Labour brand. I do not know about that, but I do have one very clear memory of him. I was sitting at home one Saturday afternoon watching one of the autumn rugby internationals. The year was 1997 and Labour had stormed into power on 1st May. I was the Leader of Wandsworth Labour councillors and had recently written an angry letter to John, the Deputy Prime Minister, protesting that he had recently walked around Battersea Park with Wandsworth’s Tory leadership without informing anyone in Wandsworth’s Labour Party, and that despite John making improved communications between the Government and Labour councillors a major theme. I didn’t expect anything other than a formal civil service acknowledgement. The phone rang, “on my way to Heathrow and the Kyoto climate change conference”, John spat out, “thought I’d give you a ring about the Battersea Park event”. I was so surprised that I do not recall the rest of the conversation, but I do remember that I could not make sense of the syntax, nor of some of his sentences. But I do remember the meaning, the apology, and the thought that Prezza made a point of ringing me, whilst he was on the way to being a prime mover at one of the world’s most important ever conferences. I much appreciated the thought then and have done ever more so since.
December 3, 2024 at 9:36 PM
seanlawless.bsky.social
I’m at Tooting Library for my Councillor advice session.

We hold these sessions every Saturday from 11am-midday. Come along and see us if there are any issues you wish to raise!
November 16, 2024 at 11:38 AM